Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co has reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 15.5%, now holding 5,197 shares valued at approximately $1.32 million.
• Two Ecolab directors engaged in significant transactions: Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares for ~$167,106, while Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares for ~$383,399.
• Ecolab recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with a payout ratio of 34.71%, marking an annualized yield of 0.9%.

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co lowered its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 15.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,197 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 956 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co's holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ECL. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 27,182.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,813,175 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $459,676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,806,529 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth $337,563,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 27,677.8% in the 1st quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,000,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $253,520,000 after buying an additional 996,400 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 79.6% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,260,813 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $319,641,000 after buying an additional 558,947 shares during the period. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $79,980,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $6.20 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $275.29. 930,495 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,168,790. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $286.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.08 billion, a PE ratio of 36.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44. The business's fifty day moving average price is $272.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $261.36.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 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. Analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors 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 is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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, with a total value 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 represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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, September 5th. 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.00.

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.