Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Get Rating) – Investment analysts at William Blair increased their FY2023 EPS estimates for shares of Ecolab in a report released on Monday, September 26th. William Blair analyst T. Mulrooney now forecasts that the basic materials company will post earnings of $5.75 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $5.74. The consensus estimate for Ecolab's current full-year earnings is $4.77 per share.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.02. Ecolab had a net margin of 8.17% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The company had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $145.92 on Thursday. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $143.34 and a 52 week high of $238.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $164.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $165.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.01.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 20th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 19th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.13%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Angela M. Busch sold 2,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.66, for a total value of $392,518.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,852,752.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Angela M. Busch sold 2,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.66, for a total transaction of $392,518.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,716 shares in the company, valued at $2,852,752.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III acquired 21,412 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $169.78 per share, with a total value of $3,635,329.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,185,554 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,294,683,358.12. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 274,284 shares of company stock worth $47,244,385. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ECL. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.9% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,047 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 0.4% during the first quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,667 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,951,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 1,541 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 87.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Company Profile

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Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Global Industrial, Global Institutional & Specialty, and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences segments. 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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