Swedbank AB Has $416.55 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 18.0%, owning approximately 1.54 million shares valued at about $416.5 million as of its recent SEC filing.
• Ecolab announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.0%, to be paid on October 15th.
• Analysts are optimistic about Ecolab's future, with current estimates predicting earnings per share of $7.54 for the year, reflecting growth expectations.

Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 18.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,545,976 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 235,306 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.55% of Ecolab worth $416,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 8,752 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,051,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2,166.7% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 272 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,426 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,021,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,546,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $1.99 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $267.47. The stock had a trading volume of 1,468,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,288,262. The firm has a market cap of $75.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.07. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month 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. The company's 50 day moving average price is $272.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $261.23.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $4.03 billion during 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 34.71%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $225,378.96. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. 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, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.