MAI Capital Management Has $6.87 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

MAI Capital Management grew its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 24.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,929 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $6,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,190,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,898,565,000 after acquiring an additional 527,902 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,479,529 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,469,019,000 after purchasing an additional 22,986 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth approximately $847,544,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its position in Ecolab by 3.6% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,610,791 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $703,452,000 after purchasing an additional 90,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Ecolab by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,497,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $674,497,000 after buying an additional 205,634 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $265.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ecolab from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at $3,505,760.28. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total value of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $306.42 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $281.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $273.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.08. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $221.62 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The firm has a market cap of $86.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.11%.

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.