Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Purchased by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 9.6% during the 1st quarter, bringing its total holdings to 88,191 shares valued at approximately $22.36 million.
• Recent analyst ratings show mixed reviews for Ecolab, with targets ranging from $260.00 to $315.00, but a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $291.21.
• Ecolab announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 0.9%, with an ex-dividend date set for September 16th.

Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 9.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,191 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,706 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $22,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.8% during the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,449 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 5.0% during the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 902 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.0% during the first quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $525,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.8% during the first quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,774 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $703,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $225,378.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total value of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Ecolab stock traded down $4.59 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $270.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,349,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,303,949. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $261.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released 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 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 1.0%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Mizuho increased their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.00.

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.