Vontobel Holding Ltd. Has $548.67 Million Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. by 119.7%, now owning approximately $548.67 million worth of the company's stock, which represents around 1.7% of its total holdings.
• Several analysts have raised their price objectives for Ecolab, with recommendations ranging from "buy" to "strong buy," leading to a consensus target price of $292.29.
• Ecolab recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.9%, with a dividend payout ratio of approximately 34.71%.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 119.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,036,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 1,109,585 shares during the period. Ecolab makes up approximately 1.7% of Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned about 0.72% of Ecolab worth $548,671,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Monday. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Baird R W raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.29.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of ECL opened at $281.35 on Thursday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $286.04. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $273.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $262.69. The stock has a market cap of $79.80 billion, a PE ratio of 37.56, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.09.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $225,378.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,165.28. This represents 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 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 sale, the director owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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