LRI Investments LLC Sells 160 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

LRI Investments LLC cut its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 14.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 951 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 176.7% during the 1st 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 grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% during the 1st 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. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $271.80 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $274.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $263.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $77.09 billion, a PE ratio of 36.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 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, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 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 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. Equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be 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 is Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, 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 transaction of $225,378.96. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ECL. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.29.

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.