Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Purchases 3,496 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 22.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,404 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,496 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.3% in the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.4% in the third quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kampmann Melissa S. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Kampmann Melissa S. now owns 13,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,746,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total value of $390,454.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $27,907,351.78. This trade represents a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ECL. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $312.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $330.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Mizuho set a $335.00 target price on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.53.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $254.07 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $71.51 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $272.95 and a 200-day moving average of $272.98. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.04 and a 52-week high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. 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 anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Ecolab Company 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.