Panagora Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 103.0%, acquiring an additional 115,897 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately $57.9 million.
• Ecolab reported $1.89 EPS for the last quarter, slightly missing consensus estimates, with a revenue of $4.03 billion, staying in line with expectations.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65, representing a 0.9% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for September 16th.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 103.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 228,456 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 115,897 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.08% of Ecolab worth $57,918,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in Ecolab by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,449 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 5.0% in the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 902 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.0% during the first quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.8% during the first quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,774 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $703,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded down $2.11 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $274.93. 988,797 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,300,185. The company's 50 day moving average price is $271.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $260.85. The firm has a market cap of $77.98 billion, a PE ratio of 36.71, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.07. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $221.62 and a 52 week high of $286.04. 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 (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its 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 return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%.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. On average, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 34.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,165.28. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ECL. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. 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 report on Thursday, August 14th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $273.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.