Thomasville National Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Thomasville National Bank lowered its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 102 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were 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 owned 4,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,208,165.28. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $265.63 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $272.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $261.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.34 billion, a PE ratio of 35.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $221.62 and a one year high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. As a group, sell-side 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 will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on ECL shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.00.

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.