2,181 Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL Bought by Winthrop Partners WNY LLC

Winthrop Partners WNY LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $573,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ECL. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,870,000 after purchasing an additional 6,238 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its holdings in Ecolab by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 330,698 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $86,670,000 after buying an additional 68,062 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 48,231 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,240,000 after buying an additional 3,464 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Ecolab by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 163,731 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,464,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 100,542 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,394,000 after buying an additional 12,890 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of ECL opened at $269.71 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $261.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $271.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.90. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $325.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $330.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.41.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total transaction of $2,608,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at $8,539,712.37. This trade represents a 23.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at $6,323,899.50. This represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.