Groupama Asset Managment Cuts Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Groupama Asset Managment reduced its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,404 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,117 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 164.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,997,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 10.8% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 227,686 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $57,723,000 after purchasing an additional 22,209 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth $88,000. Finally, First Foundation Advisors bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter valued at $207,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $275.03 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $221.62 and a 52 week high of $286.04. 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 stock has a market cap of $77.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $268.50.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 12.49%.The company 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 company posted $2.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue 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. On average, analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total transaction of $381,451.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,999.50. The trade was a 19.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total value of $5,676,256.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,989,868.04. The trade was a 23.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $303.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Mizuho set a $315.00 price target on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $299.00 to $291.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.14.

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.