2,204 Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL Bought by Davis Capital Management

Davis Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,204 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $604,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC increased its position in shares of 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 worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in Ecolab by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $805,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 7,534 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,030,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Group Ltd now owns 853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of ECL stock opened at $262.67 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $263.07 and a 200 day moving average of $268.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $221.62 and a 1-year high of $286.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.40 billion, a PE ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.07. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 12.49%.The firm had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 41.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ECL. Evercore ISI raised Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $265.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Erste Group Bank began coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ecolab from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Three equities 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $294.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,644 shares in the company, valued at $18,989,868.04. The trade was a 23.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

About Ecolab

Ecolab, Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The company develops and supplies cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, dispensing equipment, water-treatment systems, pest elimination services and related technologies designed to help businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations. Its offerings span both products and onsite services, often paired with technical support and training.

Ecolab serves a broad range of end markets including hospitality and foodservice, food and beverage processing, healthcare, manufacturing and industrial operations, and energy and utilities.