Moore Capital Management LP Invests $7.30 Million in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Moore Capital Management acquired 26,194 Ecolab shares worth approximately $7.3 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Ecolab receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $327.56, above its $287.06 share price.
• Ecolab exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $2.09 in EPS and $4.42 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 9.7% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, representing a 1.0% yield.

Moore Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 26,194 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $7,298,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 target price on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research cut Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $327.56.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $287.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.84. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $278.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $273.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.47 billion, a PE ratio of 38.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.88.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%.The company had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at $20,431,170.48. This trade represents a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michel D. Doukeris bought 7,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $258.00 per share, with a total value of $1,999,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,148,108. This represents a 1,345.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Profile

Ecolab, Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The company develops and supplies cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, dispensing equipment, water-treatment systems, pest elimination services and related technologies designed to help businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations. Its offerings span both products and onsite services, often paired with technical support and training.

Ecolab serves a broad range of end markets including hospitality and foodservice, food and beverage processing, healthcare, manufacturing and industrial operations, and energy and utilities.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.