Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 12.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 79,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 10,868 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $21,600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 70.6% during the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $277.35 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $286.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $78.66 billion, a PE ratio of 37.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $274.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $265.44.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its 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). Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at $5,640,663.03. This represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ECL. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Baird R W raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $290.92.

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.