Maple Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Maple Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $11,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a research note 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Three equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.00.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were 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 represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $225,378.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $275.29 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $286.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $272.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $261.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released 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 return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%.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. Equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

About Ecolab

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.