William Blair Has Negative Estimate for Ecolab Q2 Earnings

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) – Stock analysts at William Blair reduced their Q2 2025 earnings estimates for Ecolab in a research report issued on Tuesday, February 11th. William Blair analyst T. Mulrooney now forecasts that the basic materials company will post earnings of $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.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.33.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $264.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a market capitalization of $75.04 billion, a PE ratio of 37.17, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $242.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $246.33. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $213.94 and a 52 week high of $268.00.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 83,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.96, for a total transaction of $20,629,403.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,534,868 shares in the company, valued at $7,264,396,133.28. This represents a 0.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 260,415 shares of company stock worth $63,544,899 in the last ninety days. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $453,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 15,429 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,940,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,391 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

About Ecolab

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.