Woodline Partners LP Has $5.40 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. by 40.7% during the first quarter, adding 6,157 shares to reach a total of 21,292 shares valued at approximately $5.4 million.
• Institutional investors now own 74.91% of Ecolab's stock, with notable increases from firms like GAMMA Investing LLC and Auto Owners Insurance Co.
• Ecolab recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, which will be paid on October 15th, representing an annualized rate of $2.60.

Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 40.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,292 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,157 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 1,189.2% during the first quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 144,392 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,606,000 after purchasing an additional 133,192 shares during the period. Faithward Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 32.3% during the first quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 1,241 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter valued at approximately $319,000. Ascent Group LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 13.6% during the first quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,777 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. Finally, Vancity Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter valued at approximately $620,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,208,165.28. This represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock traded up $1.44 on Wednesday, reaching $265.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,336,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,297,751. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $75.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.45, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.07. The business's fifty day moving average price is $272.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $261.36. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is 34.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Mizuho upped their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup lowered their price target on 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 upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.