Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC Has $7.83 Million Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,606 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,189 shares during the quarter. Ecolab accounts for about 1.0% of Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $7,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First American Trust FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter valued at approximately $289,000. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. grew its position in Ecolab by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 6,883 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,885,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 10.6% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 314.1% in the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 5,805 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,590,000 after buying an additional 4,403 shares during the period. Finally, Avalon Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 8.6% during the third quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 977 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 23,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,933,816. The trade was a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $265.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.56.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL stock opened at $305.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $279.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $273.27. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $306.52. The company has a market capitalization of $86.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 40.11%.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab, Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The company develops and supplies cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, dispensing equipment, water-treatment systems, pest elimination services and related technologies designed to help businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations. Its offerings span both products and onsite services, often paired with technical support and training.

Ecolab serves a broad range of end markets including hospitality and foodservice, food and beverage processing, healthcare, manufacturing and industrial operations, and energy and utilities.