12,955 Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL Bought by FORA Capital LLC

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC has made a significant investment in Ecolab Inc., acquiring 12,955 shares valued at approximately $3.28 million in the first quarter.
• Analysts have reacted positively to Ecolab, with ratings upgrades where three analysts rated it as a Strong Buy and a consensus target price set at $291.21.
• Ecolab's recent quarterly earnings report indicated it missed expectations slightly with earnings per share of $1.89, and the company plans to issue a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share on October 15th.

FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,955 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $3,284,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% in the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the director directly 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. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird raised Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $273.00 to $300.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $291.21.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded down $1.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $277.20. The stock had a trading volume of 925,307 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,081,829. 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 cap of $78.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.06. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $286.04. The business's 50 day moving average price is $271.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $260.81.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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. Research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

Ecolab 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.