Northern Trust Corp Sells 20,972 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

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Northern Trust Corp lowered its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,108,086 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 20,972 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.10% of Ecolab worth $787,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC raised 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:ECL traded up $0.5990 on Friday, hitting $283.6590. The stock had a trading volume of 1,149,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,202,153. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $80.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.06. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $286.04. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $269.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $259.98.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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. Analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.71%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $1,208,165.28. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $291.21.

Ecolab Profile

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.