Strs Ohio Has $24.62 Million Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 28.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 91,391 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,042 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $24,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ECL. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 202.6% in the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.2%

Ecolab stock opened at $256.51 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $272.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.21. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $286.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.85, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.07. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 22.55%. The business had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.36%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total value of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho set a $315.00 price objective on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 price objective on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $294.77.

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.