UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Sells 50,707 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• UniSuper Management Pty Ltd reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 27.8%, selling 50,707 shares and holding 131,798 shares worth approximately $33.4 million after the sale.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their holdings in Ecolab, with Brighton Jones LLC raising its stake by 164.7% during the last quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65, which translates to an annualized dividend yield of 1.0%.

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd reduced its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 27.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 131,798 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 50,707 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd's holdings in Ecolab were worth $33,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 27,182.2% in 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 during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at about $337,563,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 27,677.8% in the first quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,000,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $253,520,000 after purchasing an additional 996,400 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 79.6% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,260,813 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $319,641,000 after purchasing an additional 558,947 shares during the period. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $79,980,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the firm'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 value of $383,398.64. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at $5,640,663.03. This represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock traded down $1.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $269.32. 1,372,982 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,304,085. The company has a market cap of $76.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 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 twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $286.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $272.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.22.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for 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. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. Baird R W raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho raised 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.00.

Ecolab Company 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.