Kanawha Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Kanawha Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 73,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. Ecolab accounts for 1.5% of Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $19,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 261,489 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Ecolab by 2.3% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,089,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,036,485,000 after purchasing an additional 93,409 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 4.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,805,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $964,885,000 after purchasing an additional 145,902 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Ecolab by 0.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,577,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $906,900,000 after purchasing an additional 27,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab by 6.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,718,340 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $689,154,000 after purchasing an additional 173,298 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 2.1%

ECL stock opened at $276.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $78.38 billion, a PE ratio of 36.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.09. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $286.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $274.49 and its 200 day moving average is $263.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $290.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

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