Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stake Reduced by Thrive Wealth Management LLC

Thrive Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,601 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 176.7% in the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 70.6% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total value of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.00.

Ecolab Stock Down 2.4%

ECL opened at $264.02 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $272.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $261.36. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $286.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $74.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 34.71%.

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.