Canopy Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Canopy Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 11.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,737 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Canopy Partners LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $805,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Eads & Heald Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.5% in the second quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 7,534 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.8% during the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.0% during the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 902 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.0% during the first quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.29.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of ECL stock opened at $278.80 on Wednesday. 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 $79.07 billion, a PE ratio of 37.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $273.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $262.56. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%. Ecolab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.420-7.620 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total value of $383,398.64. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president directly 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. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.