Plancorp LLC Increases Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Plancorp LLC grew its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 54.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the quarter. Plancorp LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ECL. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% during 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. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% during the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $273.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $286.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.59 billion, a PE ratio of 36.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $272.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $261.12.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. 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 anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.64.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total transaction of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director directly owned 20,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.