Choreo LLC Grows Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Choreo LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,860 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,510 shares during the period. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 1.3% in the second quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $807,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% in the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Eads & Heald Wealth Management grew its holdings in Ecolab by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 7,534 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.6%

ECL stock opened at $275.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $77.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.07. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $221.62 and a 1-year high of $286.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $268.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $268.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.07. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 22.55%. The business had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.57 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. Research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total value of $381,451.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,999.50. This trade represents a 19.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Ecolab from $303.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ecolab from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $299.00 to $291.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Erste Group Bank began coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho set a $315.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.