Leeward Financial Partners LLC Sells 578 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Leeward Financial Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 17,016 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 578 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up approximately 1.5% of Leeward Financial Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Leeward Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in Ecolab during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its position in Ecolab by 202.6% during the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 70.6% during the first 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 during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $256.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $221.62 and a 52 week high of $286.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $272.43 and its 200 day moving average is $266.21. The company has a market cap of $72.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.85, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 37.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $299.00 to $291.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $307.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $294.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total value of $383,398.64. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $225,378.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Ecolab

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.