Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 4,523 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 42.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,127 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,523 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Ecolab by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,342 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $915,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ECL. BNP Paribas Exane restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $321.44.

Ecolab Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $275.31 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $229.39 and a one year high of $309.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $281.48 and a 200-day moving average of $273.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $77.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.02.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 40.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by 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.