Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Noesis Capital Mangement Corp

Noesis Capital Mangement Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 42 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up about 2.6% of Noesis Capital Mangement Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $14,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Ecolab by 202.6% during the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in 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 stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 4.1%

Shares of ECL opened at $257.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $73.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.09. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $286.04. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $273.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $266.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.07. The firm had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 22.55%. Ecolab’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.57 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 34.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Mizuho set a $315.00 price target on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank initiated coverage on Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.62.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 20,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $383,398.64. Following the sale, the director owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.04% of the stock is 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.