Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Has $69,000 Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd decreased its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 93.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 264 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,580 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $69,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ECL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 39.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,684,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 49.4% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 58,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,741,000 after purchasing an additional 19,324 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $258.60 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $261.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $271.23. The company has a market cap of $72.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The company had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. The business’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. As a group, analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.