UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Buys 145,902 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• UBS AM increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 4.0% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 145,902 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 3.8 million shares valued at nearly $965 million.
• This acquisition reflects a trend as institutional investors currently hold 74.91% of Ecolab's stock, with other significant purchases made by the Saudi Central Bank and Dunhill Financial LLC.
• Ecolab recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.9%, set to be paid on October 15th, indicating the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,805,952 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 145,902 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned 1.34% of Ecolab worth $964,885,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Ecolab by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,411,233 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,188,736,000 after acquiring an additional 261,489 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Ecolab by 2.3% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,089,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,036,485,000 after purchasing an additional 93,409 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Ecolab by 0.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,577,229 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $906,900,000 after purchasing an additional 27,619 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab by 6.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,718,340 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $689,154,000 after purchasing an additional 173,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 27,182.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,813,175 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $459,676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,806,529 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $6.20 during trading on Thursday, reaching $275.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 930,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,168,790. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $272.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $261.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.08 billion, a PE ratio of 36.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.07. 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 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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, research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.00.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 20,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab 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.