PDT Partners LLC Has $5.27 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• PDT Partners LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. by 30.4%, totaling $5.27 million for 20,793 shares after acquiring an additional 4,842 shares in the first quarter.
• Research analysts have rated Ecolab with an average rating of "Moderate Buy", while the consensus target price stands at $291.21.
• Ecolab announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65, scheduled to be paid on October 15th, yielding 0.9% annually, with a payout ratio of 34.71%.

PDT Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 30.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,793 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 4,842 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 27,182.2% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the first quarter worth about $337,563,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 27,677.8% during the first quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,000,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $253,520,000 after buying an additional 996,400 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 79.6% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,260,813 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $319,641,000 after buying an additional 558,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $79,980,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.5%

Ecolab stock traded down $1.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $273.56. The stock had a trading volume of 1,243,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,107,140. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.07. 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 $272.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $261.16. 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 (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%. 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, analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $291.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 11,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,171,108.84. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

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.