Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Increases Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. by 7.4%, owning 455,953 shares valued at approximately $115.6 million.
• Several hedge funds have also made significant changes to their positions in Ecolab, with Dunhill Financial LLC increasing its stake by 176.7% during the first quarter.
• Ecolab recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65, with a record date of September 16th and a projected annualized dividend yield of 0.9%.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 455,953 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 31,431 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 0.16% of Ecolab worth $115,595,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 176.7% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 70.6% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird raised Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $273.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $291.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 20,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,640,663.03. This represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,208,165.28. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $278.52 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $270.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $260.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $79.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.19, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.06. 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 analyst estimates 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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