Vest Financial LLC Has $55.94 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Vest Financial LLC lowered its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 9.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 204,247 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 21,104 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $55,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 0.8% during the third quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,275 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,719,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 91.1% during the 3rd quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 9,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,653,000 after purchasing an additional 4,619 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,849 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 179.6% in the third quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 3,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $921,000 after buying an additional 2,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 4.1% during the third quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets set a $307.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Erste Group Bank started coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Three 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.31.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,933,816. This represents a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 value of $5,676,256.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $273.01 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $266.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $269.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.70 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. The company has a market capitalization of $77.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.23, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.95%.

About Ecolab

Ecolab, Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The company develops and supplies cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, dispensing equipment, water-treatment systems, pest elimination services and related technologies designed to help businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations. Its offerings span both products and onsite services, often paired with technical support and training.

Ecolab serves a broad range of end markets including hospitality and foodservice, food and beverage processing, healthcare, manufacturing and industrial operations, and energy and utilities.