Kera Capital Partners Inc. Takes Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Kera Capital Partners Inc. has purchased a new stake in Ecolab Inc., acquiring 1,026 shares valued around $276,000 during the second quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including the Saudi Central Bank and Dunhill Financial LLC, have also increased their positions in Ecolab, indicating growing investor interest.
• Ecolab's stock received mixed analyst ratings, with target price adjustments from firms like BMO Capital Markets and Citigroup, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $292.00.

Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,026 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ECL. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $292.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased 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 approximately $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $225,378.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE ECL opened at $272.74 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $272.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $261.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $286.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.36 billion, a PE ratio of 36.41, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.07.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%.The business had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

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.

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