Wormser Freres Gestion Sells 2,247 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Wormser Freres Gestion sold 2,247 shares of Ecolab Inc., reducing its position by 7.0%, leaving it with 30,035 shares valued at approximately $8.09 million.
• Ecolab's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.89, slightly missing analysts' expectations, but the company's revenue met forecasts at $4.03 billion.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.9%, set to be paid on October 15th.

Wormser Freres Gestion cut its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 7.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,035 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,247 shares during the period. Ecolab makes up 4.8% of Wormser Freres Gestion's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Wormser Freres Gestion's holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,411,233 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,188,736,000 after acquiring an additional 261,489 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in Ecolab by 2.3% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,089,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,036,485,000 after purchasing an additional 93,409 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,805,952 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $964,885,000 after purchasing an additional 145,902 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,577,229 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $906,900,000 after purchasing an additional 27,619 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 6.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,718,340 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $689,154,000 after purchasing an additional 173,298 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE ECL opened at $276.60 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $78.45 billion, a PE ratio of 36.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.09. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $221.62 and a 52 week high of $286.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $272.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $262.25.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion during 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction 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 approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. The trade was a 3.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ECL. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.00.

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.

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