5,637 Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL Acquired by United Services Automobile Association

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association has made a new investment of approximately $1.41 million in Ecolab Inc. by acquiring 5,637 shares in the first quarter of 2025.
• Following recent transactions, 74.91% of Ecolab's stock is owned by institutional investors, with several hedge funds increasing their positions in the company.
• Ecolab has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, which will be paid on October 15th, representing a yield of 0.9%.

United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,637 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,406,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% in the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% in the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho upped their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.00.

Ecolab Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of ECL stock traded up $6.20 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $275.29. The company had a trading volume of 930,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,168,790. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $286.04. The company has a market capitalization of $78.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $272.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $261.36.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The business 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company 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 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.71%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at $5,640,663.03. The trade was a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $225,378.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.