Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Reduces Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE reduced its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 49.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,542 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 20,290 shares during the quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,068 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,352,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 2,695 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $717,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Twin City Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 3.3% during the first quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,020 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the first quarter valued at $216,000. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 8.1% during the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,544 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $263.83 per share, for a total transaction of $263,830.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $285,727.89. This represents a 1,204.82% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought a total of 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508 over the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.71.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL opened at $278.48 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.68, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $261.98 and a 200 day moving average of $272.04. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

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.