BLB&B Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

BLB&B Advisors LLC reduced its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 13.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,633 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 253 shares during the quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $440,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 1.3% in the second quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $807,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in Ecolab by 1.3% in the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $805,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management increased its position in Ecolab by 0.5% in the second quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 7,534 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,030,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in Ecolab by 2.8% in the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 2.0% in the first quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of ECL stock opened at $256.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $272.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $266.08. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $286.04. The firm has a market cap of $72.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 price target on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho set a $315.00 price target on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets set a $307.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value 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 approximately $1,208,165.28. This represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. This represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Company 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.