13,287 Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL Acquired by NewEdge Wealth LLC

NewEdge Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,287 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,702,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 68,062 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,870,000 after acquiring an additional 6,238 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Ecolab by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 163,731 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,464,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $16,698,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 21,488 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,641,000 after purchasing an additional 4,886 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:ECL opened at $280.73 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $276.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $273.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.68, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.84. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%.The company had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho boosted their target price on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.56.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 28,866 shares of company stock valued at $7,878,801 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.