Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Has $11.03 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 799 shares during the quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $11,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.8% during the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.0% during the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 902 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 2.0% during the first quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,199 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 1.8% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,774 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $703,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 20.2% during the first quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 298 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

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

Ecolab Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $283.3680 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $80.37 billion, a PE ratio of 37.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $268.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $259.19. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $285.11.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. Ecolab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.420-7.620 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 34.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Mizuho upped their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.21.

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.