S Bank Fund Management Ltd Has $4.39 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• S Bank Fund Management Ltd increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 15.4% in Q2, now holding a total position valued at $4.39 million.
• Several hedge funds have also significantly increased their holdings in Ecolab, with institutional investors now owning 74.91% of the company's stock.
• Ecolab announced a $0.65 quarterly dividend, representing an annualized yield of 1.0%, and reported Q2 earnings that slightly missed analyst expectations.

S Bank Fund Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,306 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,178 shares during the quarter. S Bank Fund Management Ltd's holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth $337,563,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 119.7% during the second quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,036,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $548,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109,585 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 996,400 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 79.6% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,260,813 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $319,641,000 after acquiring an additional 558,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 199.6% in the first quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 434,598 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $110,179,000 after acquiring an additional 289,556 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $273.65 on Thursday. 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. The stock has a market cap of $77.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $274.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $263.40.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The business 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. On average, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.71%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $225,378.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,208,165.28. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho raised their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.29.

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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