Patton Fund Management Inc. Makes New $249,000 Investment in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management Inc. made a new investment of approximately $249,000 in Ecolab Inc. by acquiring 924 shares during the second quarter.
• Several institutional investors have also increased their stakes in Ecolab, with Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosting its ownership by 35.8%, now holding shares worth about $1.23 billion.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Ecolab, with BMO Capital Markets setting a new target at $310.00 per share, reflecting a positive outlook for the stock.

Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 924 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in Ecolab by 8.2% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 1,034 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,063 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 35.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,578 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $179,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab to an "outperform" rating 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. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Three equities research 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 stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.00.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.4%

Ecolab stock opened at $271.04 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $286.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $272.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $261.44. The firm has a market cap of $76.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.19, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.07.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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. Equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,165.28. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at $5,640,663.03. This 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 Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ECL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.