Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has reduced its holdings in Ecolab Inc. by 20.6%, now holding shares worth approximately $4.41 million.
• Ecolab's recent quarterly earnings report showed a slight miss with $1.89 earnings per share, just under the consensus estimate of $1.90.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.9%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 20.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,375 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,501 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL traded down $1.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $277.20. 925,307 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,083,406. The company has a market cap of $78.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.07. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $286.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $271.70 and a 200 day moving average of $260.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.71%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 approximately $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ECL. Baird R W raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $273.00 to $300.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $291.21.

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.