Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Vident Advisory LLC

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 3.9% in Q1, now holding 35,348 shares valued at approximately $8.96 million after selling 1,441 shares.
• Analysts have recently upgraded Ecolab's ratings, with three giving it a Strong Buy recommendation and raising the average target price to $291.21.
• Ecolab announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $2.60 and a yield of 0.9%, set to be paid on October 15th.

Vident Advisory LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,348 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,441 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.8% during the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,449 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.0% during the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 902 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.0% during the first quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.8% during the first quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,774 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $703,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total value of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird raised Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $273.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Baird R W raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $291.21.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:ECL traded down $1.70 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $273.09. The company had a trading volume of 1,426,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,298,046. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $286.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.46, a PEG ratio of 2.83 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $272.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $260.95.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%.The business had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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. Equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

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.