Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Purchased by Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co

Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co grew its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,503 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $6,602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in Ecolab by 1.3% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $805,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management lifted its stake in Ecolab by 0.5% during the second quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 7,534 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,030,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in Ecolab by 2.8% during the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 5.0% during the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 902 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 2.0% during the first quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $270.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $274.17 and a 200-day moving average of $263.26. 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 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $76.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.07, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.09.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. Ecolab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.420-7.620 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho upped their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 20,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total transaction of $383,398.64. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.