Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Bought by Pittenger & Anderson Inc.

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 54.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,701 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,081 shares during the quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $7,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ECL. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of ECL traded up $1.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $274.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 649,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,563,529. The company has a market cap of $77.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $263.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $272.81. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.15 and a twelve month high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total value of $2,608,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. This represents a 23.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,087,281.98. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.