Wealthfront Advisers LLC Raises Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 25.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,017 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $10,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $86,670,000 after buying an additional 68,062 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,870,000 after acquiring an additional 6,238 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its position in Ecolab by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 163,731 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,464,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 100,542 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,394,000 after purchasing an additional 12,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1,167.3% in the fourth quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 39,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,466,000 after purchasing an additional 36,723 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ECL. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $324.06.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $272.91 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $264.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $273.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.15 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The company has a market capitalization of $76.81 billion, a PE ratio of 36.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.89.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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, research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 39.51%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. This trade represents a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.