William Blair Weighs in on Ecolab’s Q2 Earnings (NYSE:ECL)

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) – Analysts at William Blair lowered their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for Ecolab in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, February 11th. William Blair analyst T. Mulrooney now expects that the basic materials company will earn $1.83 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.86. The consensus estimate for Ecolab’s current full-year earnings is $6.64 per share.

ECL has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price target on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.33.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of ECL opened at $265.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.27, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Ecolab has a 1-year low of $213.94 and a 1-year high of $267.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of $242.33 and a 200 day moving average of $246.20.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 36.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total value of $17,216,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,178,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,176,511,348.95. This trade represents a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 260,415 shares of company stock valued at $63,544,899 over the last ninety days. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth $26,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in Ecolab by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 62.0% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Company Profile

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.