Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp decreased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,666 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 390 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,411,233 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,188,736,000 after buying an additional 261,489 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Ecolab by 2.3% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,089,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,036,485,000 after purchasing an additional 93,409 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 4.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,805,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $964,885,000 after purchasing an additional 145,902 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Ecolab by 0.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,577,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $906,900,000 after purchasing an additional 27,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 6.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,718,340 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $689,154,000 after purchasing an additional 173,298 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE:ECL opened at $252.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $71.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.29, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.70. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $286.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $270.62 and a 200-day moving average of $266.73.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $299.00 to $291.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ecolab from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.14.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. The trade was a 3.05% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were 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. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company 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.