First National Bank of Omaha Acquires New Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

First National Bank of Omaha bought a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 15,441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,302,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $210,000. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $10,572,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $2,318,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $60,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.56.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.6%

ECL opened at $280.36 on Wednesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.15 and a 12 month high of $309.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $275.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $273.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. 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 (DPR) is 39.19%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at approximately $285,727.89. This represents a 1,204.82% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total value of $2,608,900.00. Following the completion of 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.