David Maclennan Purchases 750 Shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Stock

by · The Cerbat Gem

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Get Free Report) Director David Maclennan purchased 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at $5,933,816. This represents a 3.37% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.0%

ECL stock traded down $2.70 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $256.99. The stock had a trading volume of 1,604,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,351,969. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.92, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.98. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $221.62 and a 1-year high of $286.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $268.12 and a 200 day moving average of $269.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.07. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 12.49%.The business 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. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $265.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ecolab from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Erste Group Bank started coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.14.

View Our Latest Report on ECL

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

About Ecolab

(Get Free Report)

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.

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