Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Acquired by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 19.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,841 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,497 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $7,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter worth $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.56.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $284.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $80.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.24, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $272.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $273.76. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%.Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the sale, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total transaction of $2,608,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,539,712.37. This represents a 23.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders bought 9,750 shares of company stock valued at $2,513,980. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Ecolab

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.