Modern Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 1,121 Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased 1,121 shares of Ecolab Inc. in Q1, valued at approximately $284,000.
• Ecolab's recent earnings report showed an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.89, slightly missing analysts' expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, to be paid on October 15th, representing a 1.0% dividend yield.

Modern Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,121 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% during the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% during the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth about $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.7%

ECL opened at $270.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's 50 day moving average is $272.54 and its 200-day moving average is $261.34. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $286.04. 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 issued its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%. Ecolab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.420-7.620 EPS. Analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 34.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were 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 owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Baird R W raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Three investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.00.

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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