Ascent Group LLC Has $1.47 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 13.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% during the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% during the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. The trade was a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,208,165.28. This represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Three 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 MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.00.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $270.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $272.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $261.22. 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 fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The firm 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

About Ecolab

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.