2,411 Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL Bought by MQS Management LLC

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,411 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $641,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 39.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,684,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Ecolab by 49.4% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 58,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,741,000 after purchasing an additional 19,324 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on ECL shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $293.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.71.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.0%

ECL stock opened at $278.50 on Wednesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The business’s 50-day moving average is $261.94 and its 200 day moving average is $271.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $78.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.69, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The business’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders acquired 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508 in the last quarter. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab 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.