Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Perpetual Ltd

Perpetual Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 12.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,357 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,826 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $15,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 202.6% during the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 81.5% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Ecolab from $299.00 to $291.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI raised Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $265.00 to $300.00 in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $315.00 target price on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $294.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 23,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,933,816. This represents a 3.37% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total transaction of $381,451.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,999.50. This represents a 19.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:ECL opened at $263.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $74.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.98. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $221.62 and a one year high of $286.04. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $265.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $268.84.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07. The company had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 12.49%.Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.57 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.95%.

About Ecolab

Ecolab, Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The company develops and supplies cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, dispensing equipment, water-treatment systems, pest elimination services and related technologies designed to help businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations. Its offerings span both products and onsite services, often paired with technical support and training.

Ecolab serves a broad range of end markets including hospitality and foodservice, food and beverage processing, healthcare, manufacturing and industrial operations, and energy and utilities.