Midwest Trust Co Has $32.65 Million Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Midwest Trust Co increased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 124,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,086 shares during the period. Midwest Trust Co’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $32,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in Ecolab by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 330,698 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $86,670,000 after buying an additional 68,062 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,870,000 after buying an additional 6,238 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Ecolab by 20.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 66,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $18,254,000 after buying an additional 11,322 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its position in Ecolab by 19.9% in the third quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 83,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $22,834,000 after buying an additional 13,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 162.4% in the third quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 5,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,469,000 after buying an additional 3,320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $27,907,351.78. This trade represents a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $256.91 per share, with a total value of $205,528.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 24,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,224,929.30. The trade was a 3.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $254.07 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $249.04 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $272.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $272.98. The company has a market capitalization of $71.76 billion, a PE ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $312.00 to $293.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $312.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $330.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $322.53.

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.