Sciencast Management LP Buys New Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Sciencast Management LP has acquired a new stake in Ecolab Inc., purchasing 3,600 shares valued at approximately $913,000 in Q1.
• Research analysts have mixed ratings for Ecolab, with three analysts rating it as a Strong Buy and a consensus target price of $292.00.
• Ecolab recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.9%.

Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,600 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $913,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 176.7% during the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 70.6% during the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total value of $383,398.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 20,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,640,663.03. The trade was a 3.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. 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.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $292.00.

Ecolab Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of ECL stock traded up $6.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $275.29. 930,495 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,168,790. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $286.04. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $272.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $261.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $78.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.75, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.07.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%.The business had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

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.