IFM Investors Pty Ltd Has $13.39 Million Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

IFM Investors Pty Ltd reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,758 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $13,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 19,714 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,998,000 after purchasing an additional 3,276 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 141.0% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,805,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $964,885,000 after purchasing an additional 145,902 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 21,292 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,398,000 after buying an additional 6,157 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE ECL opened at $269.32 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.96, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $272.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $261.28. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $286.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. Ecolab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.420-7.620 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total value of $383,398.64. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 cost of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,253 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ECL. Mizuho raised their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group upped their target price on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.