Xponance Inc. Sells 2,474 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Xponance Inc. cut its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 44,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,474 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $12,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Corundum Trust Company INC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1,177.8% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 81.5% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 93.6% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 23,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,933,816. This trade represents a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 target price on Ecolab and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $312.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho set a $335.00 price target on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ecolab from $265.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.56.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL opened at $308.06 on Friday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $282.85 and a 200 day moving average of $274.21. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $309.27. The stock has a market cap of $86.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.32, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.20 billion during 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 was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.11%.

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.