Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) CEO Christophe Beck Sells 21,714 Shares

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 72,644 shares in the company, valued at $18,989,868.04. This represents a 23.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $261.98 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $74.20 billion, a PE ratio of 37.64, 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $269.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $267.53.

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

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 16.4% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 13,090 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,848 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its position in Ecolab by 98.2% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 15,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,042,000 after purchasing an additional 7,900 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 4.9% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,167 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,310,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 17.2% during the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,381,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 price target on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently 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.