Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 702 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 76,180 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 702 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $20,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 202.6% in the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE ECL opened at $277.35 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $274.37 and its 200-day moving average is $265.25. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $221.62 and a one year high of $286.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.03, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued 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 company had revenue of $4.03 billion for 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 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $225,378.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. This represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Mizuho upped their target price 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. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.