Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Purchases 1,913 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 30.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,252 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,913 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 1.3% in the second quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Wealth Group Ltd lifted its stake in Ecolab by 4.9% during the third quarter. Wealth Group Ltd now owns 853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 4.3% during the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Perennial Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL opened at $298.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $274.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.63. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $221.62 and a one year high of $306.52.

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

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th were given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 40.11%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total value of $381,451.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,726 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,999.50. This represents a 19.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,933,816. This trade represents a 3.37% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Ecolab

Here are the key news stories impacting Ecolab this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results: Ecolab posted a slight EPS beat and provided FY‑2026 guidance (8.43–8.63 EPS), which supports forward earnings visibility. Q4 2025 earnings call transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades: BNP Paribas Exane moved ECL to a “strong‑buy” (and earlier reaffirmed an outperform with a higher price target), adding buy‑side momentum around the name. Zacks – BNP Paribas upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Additional broker support: Evercore ISI issued a buy rating, and other analysts have raised targets (analyst commentary suggests fair values in the low‑to‑mid $300s), reinforcing upside narratives. Evercore ISI buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst fair‑value discussion: Coverage noted an average analyst view around US$317 post‑results, which frames where market participants expect ECL to trade over the medium term. Yahoo Finance – $317 analyst view
• Neutral Sentiment: Style/quant coverage: Zacks highlighted Ecolab as a top‑ranked growth/style pick, which may attract style‑focused funds but has limited immediate price impact. Zacks – Top‑ranked growth stock
• Negative Sentiment: Concerns on organic growth: Some analysts/commentary argue Ecolab’s organic growth wasn’t strong enough to fully justify upgrades, raising questions about the sustainability of the recent run. Seeking Alpha – organic growth critique

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on ECL shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $265.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.06.

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.