Generali Investments Management Co LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Generali Investments Management Co LLC increased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 28.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,525 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $948,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at $337,563,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 119.7% in the second quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,036,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $548,671,000 after buying an additional 1,109,585 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in 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 valued at $253,520,000 after buying an additional 996,400 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,411,233 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,188,736,000 after buying an additional 261,489 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 43.2% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 834,058 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $211,450,000 after buying an additional 251,730 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $295.14.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $258.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $268.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.07. The company had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 12.49%.Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.57 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 transaction of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total transaction of $5,676,256.74. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,989,868.04. The trade was a 23.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.