Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stock Position Decreased by Fifth Third Bancorp

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp has reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 1.9%, now holding approximately 172,741 shares worth $46.5 million.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Ecolab, with BMO Capital Markets reaching $310 and Mizuho at $305, indicating a strong outlook for the stock.
• Ecolab declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with an annualized payment of $2.60 and a yield of 1.0%.

Fifth Third Bancorp lowered its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 172,741 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,358 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp owned about 0.06% of Ecolab worth $46,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter worth $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% during the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Mizuho raised their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.00.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $267.02 on Thursday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $221.62 and a 52 week high of $286.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $75.73 billion, a PE ratio of 35.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.07. The company's 50-day moving average price is $272.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $261.30.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%.The business had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is 34.71%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $225,378.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,208,165.28. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

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.

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