Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Howland Capital Management LLC

Howland Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 172,696 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,855 shares during the period. Ecolab comprises about 1.7% of Howland Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Howland Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Ecolab worth $47,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBT Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,108,000. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 29.8% during the third quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 11,586 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,181,000 after purchasing an additional 2,660 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management increased its holdings in Ecolab by 3.8% during the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 44,588 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,275,000 after buying an additional 1,626 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 2.4% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 183,614 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $50,417,000 after buying an additional 4,326 shares during the period. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. 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. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on Ecolab from $299.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Ecolab from $287.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $324.50.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $292.32 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.15 and a 12 month high of $309.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $280.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $272.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $81.95 billion, a PE ratio of 39.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.87.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Profile

Ecolab Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and cleaning solutions for businesses and institutions. The company helps customers manage water and energy use, maintain sanitary operations, protect food supplies and comply with health and safety standards.

Ecolab serves customers across industries including food and beverage processing, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, institutional facilities and energy. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, water-treatment and process-management systems, pest-control services, kitchen and housekeeping products, infection-prevention programs, and related equipment, training and consulting services.

Founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, the company has expanded from its original focus on cleaning products into a broad range of technology-enabled services and solutions.