Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. Sells 10,652 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Firetrail Investments cut its Ecolab stake by 19.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,652 shares and leaving it with 43,627 shares worth about $11.5 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive on Ecolab, with several analysts raising price targets and the consensus rating at Moderate Buy with a target of $322.53.
• Ecolab reported Q1 earnings that matched expectations at $1.70 per share and revenue above estimates, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share payable July 15.

Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. lowered its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 19.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,627 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 10,652 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up about 3.8% of Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $11,509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 164.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 39.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,096 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,684,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 49.4% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 58,421 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $15,741,000 after acquiring an additional 19,324 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ECL. BNP Paribas Exane reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $345.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $295.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $326.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $322.53.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $254.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $71.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.92. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $249.04 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $272.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $272.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 90,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,907,351.78. This trade represents a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total value of $390,454.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at $3,505,760.28. This trade represents a 10.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab, Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The company develops and supplies cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, dispensing equipment, water-treatment systems, pest elimination services and related technologies designed to help businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations. Its offerings span both products and onsite services, often paired with technical support and training.

Ecolab serves a broad range of end markets including hospitality and foodservice, food and beverage processing, healthcare, manufacturing and industrial operations, and energy and utilities.

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