Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Sells 41,174 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lowered its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 283,716 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 41,174 shares during the period. Ecolab comprises 1.4% of Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA owned about 0.10% of Ecolab worth $71,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% during the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth $38,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.00.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.6%

ECL opened at $272.72 on Tuesday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $272.42 and its 200 day moving average is $261.67. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $286.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.41, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.07.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%. Ecolab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.420-7.620 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $225,378.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total transaction of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

About Ecolab

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.