Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Wendell David Associates Inc.

Wendell David Associates Inc. lessened its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 70,888 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up 1.9% of Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $19,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Ecolab during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% in the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ECL. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Baird R W raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Erste Group Bank started coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $290.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the transaction, the director 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of Ecolab 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,208,165.28. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE ECL opened at $276.37 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $274.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.73. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $286.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.90, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The company 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.71%.

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.