Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 22,986 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,479,529 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,986 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.93% of Ecolab worth $1,469,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Ecolab by 202.6% during the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 70.6% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $261.04 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $73.94 billion, a PE ratio of 37.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $269.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.70. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07. The firm had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 12.49%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.57 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $307.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.