Caldwell Trust Co Makes New $1.67 Million Investment in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,186 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,667,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,662,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,644,987,000 after buying an additional 250,980 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 0.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,479,529 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,469,019,000 after acquiring an additional 22,986 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 4.0% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 145,902 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Ecolab by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,577,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $906,900,000 after purchasing an additional 27,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $847,544,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.8%

ECL opened at $263.51 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $286.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $266.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $269.01. The company has a market cap of $74.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Ecolab Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ECL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Mizuho set a $315.00 target price on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Evercore ISI upgraded Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $265.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Erste Group Bank started coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the company’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 transaction of $381,451.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,535,999.50. This represents a 19.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,933,816. The trade was a 3.37% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.50% 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.