AXQ Capital LP Sells 1,246 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

AXQ Capital LP lessened its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,396 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,246 shares during the quarter. AXQ Capital LP’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its holdings 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased 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 worth $37,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total transaction of $5,676,256.74. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,989,868.04. This represents a 23.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $267.01 on Friday. 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 $267.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $268.05. The firm has a market cap of $75.63 billion, a PE ratio of 38.36, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.07. 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 (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 12.49%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $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 research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. 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 note on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho set a $315.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.14.

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.