Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Acquired by Norinchukin Bank The

Key Points

• Norinchukin Bank increased its stakes in Ecolab Inc. by 16.6%, owning shares worth $5.43 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Ecolab's target price has been set between $260.00 and $295.00 by various analysts, with the stock currently holding a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, highlighting a 0.9% yield and a payout ratio of 34.71%.

Norinchukin Bank The increased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 16.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,434 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,053 shares during the quarter. Norinchukin Bank The's holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 27,182.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,813,175 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $459,676,000 after buying an additional 1,806,529 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at $337,563,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in 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 valued at $253,520,000 after buying an additional 996,400 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 79.6% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,260,813 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $319,641,000 after purchasing an additional 558,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,129,058 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $733,201,000 after purchasing an additional 514,944 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total transaction of $383,398.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average price 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. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $0.71 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $279.07. 1,815,714 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,308,279. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $286.04. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $270.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.20. The company has a market cap of $79.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.26, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.06.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion for 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.65 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $273.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $291.21.

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.