Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management has increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 13.0%, bringing its total holdings to approximately $19.33 million.
• The stock has received positive ratings from multiple analysts, with the average target price set at $292.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Ecolab has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.0%, with the ex-dividend date on September 16th.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,722 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,262 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Ecolab were worth $19,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 164.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its position in Ecolab by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 8,752 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,051,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2,166.7% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 272 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,426 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,021,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $3,546,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $266.23. 388,530 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,307,260. 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 company has a market cap of $75.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $272.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $261.25.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total value of $383,398.64. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $225,378.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,165.28. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Baird R W raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.00.

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.