Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Acquired by Segment Wealth Management LLC

Segment Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 20.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,007 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of ECL stock opened at $276.60 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $272.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $262.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.93, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.09. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly 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). Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%.The company had revenue of $4.03 billion for 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. Research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.00.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total transaction of $383,398.64. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. This represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.