Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stock Position Decreased by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG has reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 34.8%, owning a total of 142,483 shares worth approximately $38.4 million after selling 75,999 shares.
• Other institutional investors, including Nuveen LLC and Auto Owners Insurance Co, have made significant adjustments to their positions in Ecolab, with Auto Owners growing its stake by 27,677.8% to 1 million shares worth $253.5 million.
• Ecolab recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.0%, and reported earnings per share of $1.89 for the last quarter, slightly below analysts' estimates.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG trimmed its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 34.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 142,483 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 75,999 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG owned 0.05% of Ecolab worth $38,391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $337,563,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in Ecolab by 27,677.8% during the first quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,000,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $253,520,000 after buying an additional 996,400 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 79.6% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,260,813 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $319,641,000 after acquiring an additional 558,947 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 199.6% in the first quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 434,598 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $110,179,000 after purchasing an additional 289,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,411,233 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,188,736,000 after buying an additional 261,489 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $269.83 on Thursday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $221.62 and a 1-year high of $286.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $272.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.81. The company has a market cap of $76.53 billion, a PE ratio of 36.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%.The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $225,378.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,165.28. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Baird R W raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.00.

About Ecolab

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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