Cresset Asset Management LLC Sells 30,067 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

08 May 2025, 10:23 by Danessa Lincoln · The Markets Daily

Cresset Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Free Report) by 46.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,481 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 30,067 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $521,399,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 98.6% during the 4th quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,427,083 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $334,394,000 after acquiring an additional 708,432 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in Ecolab by 206.7% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $179,749,000 after acquiring an additional 516,970 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Ecolab by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,129,058 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $733,201,000 after acquiring an additional 514,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $80,564,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of ECL stock opened at $254.38 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $220.96 and a twelve month high of $273.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $248.00 and a 200 day moving average of $247.76. The stock has a market cap of $72.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The business’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ECL. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.47.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Ecolab

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Profile

(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.