IFG Advisory LLC Makes New Investment in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

IFG Advisory LLC bought a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,513 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 347.4% in the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 2,966 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,303 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Ecolab by 79.6% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,260,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $319,641,000 after purchasing an additional 558,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 3,056 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total value of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. The sale 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $258.27 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.11, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.09. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $221.62 and a 1-year high of $286.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $271.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $266.89.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 37.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $323.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.14.

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.