Magnetar Financial LLC Acquires 21,965 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 103.5% during the first quarter, now holding a position valued at approximately $10.95 million.
• Institutional investors currently own 74.91% of Ecolab's stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Ecolab plans to pay a $0.65 quarterly dividend on October 15th, with a total annualized dividend yield of 0.9% for shareholders on record as of September 16th.

Magnetar Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 103.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,182 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 21,965 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $10,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in Ecolab by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,449 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 5.0% in the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 902 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 2.0% in the first quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 3.8% in the first quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total value of $383,398.64. Following the sale, the director owned 11,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,171,108.84. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock traded down $2.11 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $274.93. 986,890 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,300,164. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $286.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $271.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $260.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.07. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The business had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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. On average, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $273.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $291.21.

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.