Faithward Advisors LLC Has $315,000 Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Faithward Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 32.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,241 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. Faithward Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 176.7% in 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 grew its holdings in Ecolab by 70.6% in 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 bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $275.21 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $78.06 billion, a PE ratio of 36.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.07. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $221.62 and a one year high of $286.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $261.16.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. The trade was a 3.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on ECL. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.00.

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.