Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Blueshift Asset Management LLC

Blueshift Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 73.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,308 shares during the quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 202.6% in the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 81.5% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the first quarter worth about $40,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $264.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $74.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.98. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $286.04. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $268.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $269.04.

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

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Mizuho set a $315.00 price objective on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 target price on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Evercore ISI upgraded Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $265.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $307.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $295.14.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total value of $5,676,256.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,989,868.04. The trade was a 23.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,999.50. This represents a 19.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Company 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.