Ethic Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 19.6% during the first quarter, now owning 39,542 shares worth approximately $10 million.
• Analysts have varying opinions on Ecolab, with Wells Fargo setting a price target of $260.00, while Mizuho increased it to $305.00 and upgraded their rating to "outperform."
• Ecolab recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 payable on October 15th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.9%.

Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 19.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,542 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 6,490 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $10,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth about $2,740,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 773,487 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $196,063,000 after buying an additional 7,976 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 4.0% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 4,350 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,103,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 6.1% during the first quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 51,597 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $13,081,000 after purchasing an additional 2,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 90.9% during the first quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 26,422 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,699,000 after purchasing an additional 12,580 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab 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 owned 4,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,208,165.28. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 20,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,640,663.03. The trade was a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $273.00 to $300.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $291.21.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $0.8450 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $284.5050. The company had a trading volume of 397,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,305,077. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $286.04. 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 stock has a market cap of $80.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.06. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $268.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $259.19.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The company 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. On average, research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid 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 yield of 0.9%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.71%.

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.