Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Bought by NorthRock Partners LLC

NorthRock Partners LLC raised its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ECL. Mizuho boosted their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.29.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.7%

ECL stock opened at $270.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $76.62 billion, a PE ratio of 36.07, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.09. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $274.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $263.26. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $221.62 and a one year high of $286.04.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion for 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 11,199 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the business’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 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. The trade was 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 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.