Osprey Private Wealth LLC Increases Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Osprey Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,242 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,697 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up approximately 2.6% of Osprey Private Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Osprey Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total transaction of $2,608,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. This represents a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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. The trade was a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL traded up $1.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $274.60. 649,597 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,563,529. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $263.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $272.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.16, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.89.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s 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 predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $324.29.

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.