Patten & Patten Inc. TN Sells 4,380 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Patten & Patten Inc. TN has reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 35%, selling 4,380 shares, which leaves them with 8,141 shares valued at approximately $2.19 million.
• In recent transactions, insider Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares while Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares, reflecting differing confidence levels in the company's future.
• Ecolab's stock is currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with a target price averaging $292.29 following several recent upgrades.

Patten & Patten Inc. TN trimmed its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 35.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,141 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,380 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN's holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 202.6% in the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% in the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its position 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 in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $225,378.96. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following 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 owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.29.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $273.65 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $77.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.09. The business's 50 day moving average is $274.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 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 expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.71%.

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.

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