Gradient Investments LLC Buys 5,811 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 7.5% during Q2, resulting in holdings valued at approximately $22.34 million.
• Ecolab recently reported an EPS of $1.89 for the last quarter, which was slightly below analyst expectations, and set guidance for Q3 2025 of 2.020-2.120 EPS.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65, with an upcoming ex-dividend date on September 16th, representing an annual yield of 1.0%.

Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 7.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 82,924 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 5,811 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $22,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 176.7% in the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 70.6% in the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter worth about $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.00.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,326 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the acquisition, the director 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. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $1.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $265.50. The stock had a trading volume of 1,338,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,300,207. The business's fifty day moving average is $272.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $261.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $75.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.45, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.07. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. 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, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's dividend 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.