Ecolab Inc. $ECL Position Reduced by Wellington Management Group LLP

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP has reduced its holdings in Ecolab Inc. by 4.2%, now owning approximately 4.76 million shares valued at $1.21 billion.
• Insider trading activity includes Director David Maclennan purchasing 600 shares and SVP Jennifer J. Bradway selling 807 shares on the same day, reflecting mixed sentiment among corporate insiders.
• Equities analysts have upgraded Ecolab's stock rating, with several firms issuing "strong-buy" ratings and a consensus price target of $291.21.

Wellington Management Group LLP trimmed its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,762,433 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 206,270 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 1.68% of Ecolab worth $1,207,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% in the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 70.6% during the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $273.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $291.21.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $0.5990 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $283.6590. The company had a trading volume of 1,149,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,193,302. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.44 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $269.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $259.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.06.

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). The business 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 research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were 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 directly owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,165.28. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 20,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

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.