Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Findlay Park Partners LLP

Findlay Park Partners LLP trimmed its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 440,184 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 15,800 shares during the period. Findlay Park Partners LLP owned approximately 0.16% of Ecolab worth $118,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its stake in Ecolab by 202.6% during the second 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 during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 81.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total value of $5,676,256.74. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total transaction of $381,451.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,535,999.50. This trade represents a 19.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $275.03 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.90 billion, a PE ratio of 39.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.07. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $286.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $267.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $268.45.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07. The firm had revenue of $4.17 billion for 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%.The business’s 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 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ECL. BMO Capital Markets set a $307.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of 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, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.14.

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.