Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Decreases Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Generali Asset Management SPA SGR reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 26.7%, selling 7,047 shares and lowering its holdings to 19,386 shares, valued at approximately $5.2 million.
• Ecolab's stock recently opened at $273.65 with a market capitalization of $77.61 billion, and its 52-week trading range is $221.62 to $286.04.
• The company reported $1.89 EPS for its last quarter, falling slightly short of the consensus estimate of $1.90, with an anticipated FY 2025 EPS guidance of 7.420-7.620.

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR cut its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 26.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,386 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,047 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR's holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,836 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 202.6% during the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,116 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $570,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 135,833 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,599,000 after buying an additional 5,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $217,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $273.65 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.61 billion, a PE ratio of 36.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.09. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $286.04. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $274.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $263.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. 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 research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 34.71%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ECL. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Baird R W raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.29.

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.

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