Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Sells 1,783 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ has reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 2.1% in the first quarter, now holding 83,511 shares valued at approximately $21.17 million.
• Analysts have recently set new price targets for Ecolab, with Mizuho increasing their target from $285 to $305, indicating an "outperform" rating for the stock.
• Ecolab announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, payable on October 15th, which signifies a 0.9% dividend yield.

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ lessened its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,511 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,783 shares during the period. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ's holdings in Ecolab were worth $21,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 176.7% in the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 70.6% in the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total value of $383,398.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $225,378.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Ecolab stock traded down $1.92 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $275.12. The company had a trading volume of 591,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,297,542. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $271.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $260.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $78.03 billion, a PE ratio of 36.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.07. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%. Ecolab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.420-7.620 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 34.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird raised Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $273.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $291.21.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.