First Western Trust Bank Sells 1,264 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

04 Apr 2025, 14:22 by Tristan Rich · The Markets Daily

First Western Trust Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Free Report) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,987 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,264 shares during the quarter. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 870 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 14,973 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 34.7% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 17,361 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,068,000 after acquiring an additional 4,475 shares during the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp increased its position in Ecolab by 96.3% during the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 19,159 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,489,000 after purchasing an additional 9,400 shares during the period. Finally, Bryce Point Capital LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $501,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $250.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $257.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $250.26. The stock has a market cap of $70.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.88, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.05 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $289.33.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Ecolab

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

About Ecolab

(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.