Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,961 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 371 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aspiriant LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 17.9% during the second quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 1,791 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.5% during the second quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,574 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth $162,000. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% during the second quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 381,703 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $102,846,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 9.6% during the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 6,772 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of ECL stock opened at $280.31 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $286.04. The stock has a market cap of $79.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $274.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $264.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion during 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. On average, analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction, the director owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 value of $383,398.64. Following the sale, the director owned 11,199 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $290.92.

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.