Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Acquired by Fiera Capital Corp

Fiera Capital Corp raised its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 127.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,190,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,898,565,000 after purchasing an additional 527,902 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,479,529 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,469,019,000 after buying an additional 22,986 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $847,544,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its stake in Ecolab by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,610,791 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $703,452,000 after acquiring an additional 90,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Ecolab by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,497,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $674,497,000 after acquiring an additional 205,634 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $304.07 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $278.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $272.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $86.13 billion, a PE ratio of 41.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.99. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $306.52.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.11%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at $5,933,816. This trade represents a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total value of $381,451.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,999.50. This represents a 19.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane restated an “outperform” rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $322.76.

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.