Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 1.8%, selling 1,365 shares and holding 74,849 shares valued at approximately $18.98 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in Ecolab during the first quarter, with Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC showing the largest growth at 19.3%.
• Ecolab recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, set to be paid on October 15th, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.9% and a payout ratio of 34.71%.

MetLife Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 74,849 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,365 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $18,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ECL. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 42,899 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,876,000 after buying an additional 2,651 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 32.4% in the 1st quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 14,005 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,551,000 after acquiring an additional 3,428 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 5,576 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,414,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA now owns 5,092 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,291,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 120,176 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,467,000 after acquiring an additional 19,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL traded down $1.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $277.20. The stock had a trading volume of 463,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,298,416. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $221.62 and a 52 week high of $286.04. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $271.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $260.70. The company has a market capitalization of $78.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.06.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion during 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. On average, analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ECL. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $291.21.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 11,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,165.28. This represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

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.