QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $6.79 Million Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 41.1% to hold 25,189 shares, valued at approximately $6.79 million.
• Ecolab’s stock has received mixed ratings from analysts, with price targets ranging from $292.00 to $315.00 and a consensus average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.9%, with payment scheduled for October 15th.

QRG Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 41.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,189 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 17,554 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $6,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 176.7% in the first 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. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 70.6% in the first 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. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted 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, Raymond James Financial started coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $292.00.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $276.60 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $78.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.93, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $262.25. 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 1-year low of $221.62 and a 1-year high of $286.04.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The firm 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. Research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $225,378.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. This represents a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab 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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