Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Lowers Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC trimmed its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 27.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 74,085 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 28,477 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $19,708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:ECL opened at $277.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $78.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.89. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $269.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.46.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. Analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 39.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research downgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price objective on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Michel D. Doukeris purchased 7,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $258.00 per share, with a total value of $1,999,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,326 shares in the company, valued at $2,148,108. This trade represents a 1,345.49% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders bought 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508. 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.