Kelleher Financial Advisors Purchases Shares of 1,826 Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,826 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $509,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ECL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 63.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,788,497,000 after buying an additional 4,110,472 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,022,334,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $880,506,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 26,152.0% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 945,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,810,000 after purchasing an additional 941,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 58.8% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,243,825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $596,902,000 after purchasing an additional 830,726 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at $8,539,712.37. This trade represents a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL stock opened at $276.28 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $274.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $273.80. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The stock has a market cap of $77.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.84.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on ECL shares. Citigroup increased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.56.

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.