SouthState Corp Has $1.75 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

SouthState Corp trimmed its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,508 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 340 shares during the quarter. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 347.4% during the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 2,966 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $751,000 after buying an additional 2,303 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 14,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,757,000 after buying an additional 1,187 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 9.9% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 90,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,088,000 after buying an additional 8,180 shares during the period. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 21.0% during the first quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $252.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.70. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $286.04. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $270.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $266.73. The firm has a market cap of $71.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.29, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total value of $225,378.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. This represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total transaction of $383,398.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets set a $307.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank started coverage on Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $303.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 target price on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Ecolab from $325.00 to $323.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.14.

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.