S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC Has $3.68 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC lessened its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,670 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 582 shares during the period. Ecolab comprises approximately 1.2% of S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 27,182.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,813,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $459,676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,806,529 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth approximately $337,563,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 27,677.8% during the first quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,000,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $253,520,000 after purchasing an additional 996,400 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Ecolab by 79.6% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,260,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $319,641,000 after buying an additional 558,947 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $78,218,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $272.74 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $272.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $261.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.41, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.07. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $221.62 and a 1-year high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its 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 return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the firm’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 owned 4,326 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,165.28. This represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ECL. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.00.

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.