Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Carnegie Investment Counsel

Carnegie Investment Counsel cut its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 147,424 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,428 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $40,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 128.5% in the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 18,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,581,000 after purchasing an additional 10,161 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 103.5% during the 1st quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 43,182 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,948,000 after purchasing an additional 21,965 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Ecolab by 103.0% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 228,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $57,918,000 after purchasing an additional 115,897 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Ecolab from $303.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets set a $307.00 target price on Ecolab and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 price target on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $315.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $294.57.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total transaction of $381,451.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,999.50. The trade was a 19.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total value of $5,676,256.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,644 shares in the company, valued at $18,989,868.04. This trade represents a 23.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $265.86 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $75.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.98. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $221.62 and a one year high of $286.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $264.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $268.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.70.

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

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 41.95%.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab, Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The company develops and supplies cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, dispensing equipment, water-treatment systems, pest elimination services and related technologies designed to help businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations. Its offerings span both products and onsite services, often paired with technical support and training.

Ecolab serves a broad range of end markets including hospitality and foodservice, food and beverage processing, healthcare, manufacturing and industrial operations, and energy and utilities.