29,181 Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL Purchased by Night Squared LP

Key Points

• Night Squared LP has acquired a new stake of 29,181 shares in Ecolab Inc., valued at approximately $7.4 million, making Ecolab the firm's largest holding at 4.4% of its portfolio.
• Ecolab announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.9%, payable on October 15th to stockholders of record as of September 16th.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.89, slightly missing the consensus estimate of $1.90, with revenue of $4.03 billion.

Night Squared LP acquired a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 29,181 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $7,398,000. Ecolab comprises about 4.4% of Night Squared LP's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 176.7% during the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 70.6% during the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE ECL traded down $1.70 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $273.09. The stock had a trading volume of 1,428,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,300,944. The company's 50 day moving average price is $272.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $260.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $286.04. The firm has a market cap of $77.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.07.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. Ecolab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.420-7.620 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on ECL. Mizuho raised their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $291.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. The trade was 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 company insiders.

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.