Insider Buying: Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) EVP Purchases $263,830.00 in Stock

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) EVP Benjamin Clark acquired 1,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $263.83 per share, for a total transaction of $263,830.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,727.89. The trade was a 1,204.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.8%

Ecolab stock opened at $268.87 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $75.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.38, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $261.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.21.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. 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%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,870,000 after purchasing an additional 6,238 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 330,698 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $86,670,000 after purchasing an additional 68,062 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 7.7% during the third quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 48,231 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,240,000 after purchasing an additional 3,464 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 163,731 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,464,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 19.9% during the third quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 83,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,834,000 after purchasing an additional 13,840 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $312.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.41.

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.