AMG National Trust Bank Acquires 62 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

AMG National Trust Bank increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the quarter. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,411,233 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,188,736,000 after purchasing an additional 261,489 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Ecolab by 2.3% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,089,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,036,485,000 after purchasing an additional 93,409 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 4.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,805,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $964,885,000 after purchasing an additional 145,902 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Ecolab by 0.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,577,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $906,900,000 after purchasing an additional 27,619 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 6.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,718,340 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $689,154,000 after purchasing an additional 173,298 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $256.80 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $272.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $266.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $72.83 billion, a PE ratio of 36.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.09. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $286.04.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $225,378.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. This represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Mizuho set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets set a $307.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.38.

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.