Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its holdings in Ecolab Inc. by 8.0%, now owning 85,578 shares worth approximately $21.7 million.
• Several institutional investors have recently adjusted their stakes in Ecolab, with Hedge funds owning 74.91% of the company's stock.
• Ecolab's quarterly earnings were reported at $1.89 EPS, slightly missing analysts' consensus of $1.90 EPS, and the company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 85,578 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,481 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Ecolab were worth $21,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.8% in the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,449 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.0% in the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 902 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.0% in the first quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,774 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 20.2% in the first quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 298 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $2.0180 on Wednesday, reaching $285.6780. The company had a trading volume of 730,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,307,303. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $268.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $259.19. The firm has a market cap of $81.03 billion, a PE ratio of 38.15, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.06. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $286.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 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 payout ratio is 34.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $291.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 20,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. The trade was a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total transaction of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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.