Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stock Holdings Increased by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 72.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,171 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 5,533 shares during the period. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 902 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 1.8% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,774 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $703,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $283.6590 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $286.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $269.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $259.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $80.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.87, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.06.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion for 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. Analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.71%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, 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 transaction, the director directly owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $225,378.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,208,165.28. This represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $273.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.21.

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.