Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Lowers Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. cut its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 290,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 22,915 shares during the quarter. Ecolab accounts for about 1.9% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned approximately 0.10% of Ecolab worth $78,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 202.6% in the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 70.6% in the first quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Monday, October 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Baird R W upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $290.92.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $274.79 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $274.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $264.61. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $286.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.69, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.09. 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 (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total transaction of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. The trade was a 3.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Company 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.