Cibc World Market Inc. Makes New Investment in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 21,595 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,017,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ECL. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $6,422,340,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 63.1% in the 4th 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. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Ecolab by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,883,084 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,069,468,000 after buying an additional 441,747 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,635,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,472,599,000 after acquiring an additional 46,569 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $1,022,334,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director Michel D. Doukeris purchased 7,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $258.00 per share, with a total value of $1,999,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 8,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,148,108. The trade was a 1,345.49% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were 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 owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. This represents a 23.40% 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 Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $290.01 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $81.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.88. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $277.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $273.71.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced 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. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The company 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 business earned $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab’s quarterly 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 fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ECL. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus 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.