Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 18,074 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 24.0% in the 1st quarter, selling 18,074 shares and holding 57,199 shares worth approximately $14.5 million.
• Other institutional investors, including Nemes Rush Group LLC and University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co., have increased their investments in Ecolab during the same period, indicating a strong interest in the company.
• Following its quarterly earnings report, Ecolab announced a $0.65 dividend to be paid on October 15th, reflecting a 0.9% dividend yield and a dividend payout ratio of 34.71%.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 24.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,199 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 18,074 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $14,501,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% during the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% during the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,171,108.84. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 20,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Mizuho upped their price objective 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.00.

Ecolab Trading Up 2.3%

NYSE:ECL traded up $6.20 on Thursday, reaching $275.29. 930,495 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,168,790. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.07. The company's 50 day moving average is $272.60 and its 200-day moving average is $261.36. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share 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 for 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.