Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stock Sold by YHB Investment Advisors Inc.

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 68,024 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,130 shares during the period. Ecolab comprises 1.2% of YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $18,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth $6,422,340,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,617,425 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,007,851,000 after acquiring an additional 51,712 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Ecolab by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,412,057 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $641,609,000 after acquiring an additional 88,096 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position 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. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $578,923,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total value of $5,003,860.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,431,170.48. This trade represents a 19.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Ecolab from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price objective on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.67.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $4.35 on Thursday, reaching $282.45. 371,857 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,443,668. The firm has a market cap of $79.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.87. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.84. The company’s 50-day moving average is $279.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $270.64.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter 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, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Ecolab Profile

Ecolab Inc (NYSE:ECL) is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and related services. The company helps businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations through specialized products, technologies, equipment and on-site expertise.

Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing solutions, water treatment and process-management systems, food safety programs, infection prevention products, pest elimination services and solutions for industrial operations. Ecolab serves customers in industries including hospitality, healthcare, food and beverage production, life sciences, manufacturing, energy, retail and institutional services.

The company was founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory and adopted the Ecolab name in 1986.