Findlay Park Partners LLP Has $115.60 Million Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Findlay Park Partners LLP increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 1.4% during Q1, owning 0.16% worth approximately $115.6 million after acquiring 6,100 additional shares.
• Ecolab recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with a payout date set for October 15th, representing a 0.9% yield.
• Ecolab's stock is currently valued at $278.52, having seen a decrease of 1.8%, with investment analysts mostly rating it as a "Moderate Buy" and setting an average price target of $291.21.

Findlay Park Partners LLP lifted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 455,984 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 6,100 shares during the period. Findlay Park Partners LLP owned about 0.16% of Ecolab worth $115,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ECL. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% in the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% in the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE ECL traded down $1.82 during trading on Friday, hitting $277.20. 925,307 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,081,829. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $286.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $271.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $260.81. 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 company has a market capitalization of $78.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.01, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.06.

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 business had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $273.00 to $300.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $291.21.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $225,378.96. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were purchased 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 owned 20,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,640,663.03. This represents a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.