Christophe Beck Sells 20,000 Shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Stock

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at $27,907,351.78. This represents a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE ECL traded down $2.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $305.99. 1,096,046 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,263,163. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $309.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $280.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $273.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $86.67 billion, a PE ratio of 42.03, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank lowered Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.56.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 39.8% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 22.9% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 7.5% during the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,693 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 25,007 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ecolab

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.