Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 499 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,385 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 499 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted 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 valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,813,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 120,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,467,000 after buying an additional 19,431 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 5,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Monday, October 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.29.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $273.07 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $274.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $263.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $286.04. The company has a market cap of $77.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.46, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.09.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.71%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were 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 directly owned 4,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,208,165.28. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $278.51 per share, with a total value 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. The trade was a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab 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.