Wormser Freres Gestion Cuts Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Wormser Freres Gestion lowered its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 7.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,247 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up 4.8% of Wormser Freres Gestion’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Wormser Freres Gestion’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% during the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% during the 1st 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. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 20,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $225,378.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ECL. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup lowered 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 increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.00.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $276.60 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $272.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $262.25. The stock has a market cap of $78.45 billion, a PE ratio of 36.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.09. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $286.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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 given 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

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.