Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 2,236 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $612,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 33,335 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at $281,000. United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.7% during the third quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 55,649 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,240,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp raised its stake in Ecolab by 8.7% during the third quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp now owns 59,334 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,249,000 after buying an additional 4,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 33,166.7% in the third quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 16,966 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,646,000 after buying an additional 16,915 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $291.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ecolab from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 price target on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $294.86.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $271.83 on Friday. 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 1.33, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $263.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $268.90. The company has a market cap of $76.99 billion, a PE ratio of 39.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total transaction of $5,676,256.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,989,868.04. This trade represents a 23.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,535,999.50. The trade was a 19.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.