Korea Investment CORP Sells 18,111 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

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Korea Investment CORP lowered its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 196,395 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 18,111 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.07% of Ecolab worth $49,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings 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. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 70.6% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $0.5990 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $283.6590. 1,149,487 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,193,302. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $80.45 billion, a PE ratio of 37.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $269.98 and a 200-day moving average of $259.84. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ECL. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $273.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $291.21.

Ecolab 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.