Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases 53,123 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 997,987 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,123 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $265,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,788,497,000 after acquiring an additional 4,110,472 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $1,022,334,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $880,506,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in Ecolab by 26,152.0% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 945,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,810,000 after purchasing an additional 941,472 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,591,274 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $417,747,000 after purchasing an additional 813,996 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark purchased 1,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $263.83 per share, with a total value of $263,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $285,727.89. This trade represents a 1,204.82% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE:ECL opened at $272.91 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.89. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $264.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $273.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm 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, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $325.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.06.

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.