Tidal Investments LLC Acquires 5,014 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 13.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 41,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,014 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $11,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Ecolab by 2.2% in 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 buying an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth approximately $115,674,000. Cornerstone Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth approximately $16,698,000. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,245,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $880,506,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.56.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $276.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $77.46 billion, a PE ratio of 37.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $278.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.26. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $243.15 and a one year high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The company’s 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, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total value of $5,003,860.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Profile

Ecolab Inc (NYSE:ECL) provides water, hygiene, infection prevention and technology solutions to businesses and institutions worldwide. Its customers include restaurants, hotels, hospitals, manufacturers, food and beverage companies, retailers and other organizations that rely on safe, efficient and sustainable operating environments.

The company’s offerings include cleaning and sanitizing products, water-treatment and process-management systems, food-safety programs, infection-prevention solutions and pest-elimination services.