Blue Trust Inc. Grows Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 14.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.5% during the second quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 7,534 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.8% during the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.0% during the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 902 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.0% during the first quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.3%

ECL stock opened at $271.80 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $286.04. The business’s 50-day moving average is $274.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $77.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.09.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its 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 the consensus estimate 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, analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at $5,640,663.03. This represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 4,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.