Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Confluence Investment Management LLC

Confluence Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,581 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,873 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $23,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ECL. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 39.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,684,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Ecolab by 49.4% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 58,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,741,000 after purchasing an additional 19,324 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho increased their target price on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.56.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $263.83 per share, for a total transaction of $263,830.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 1,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,727.89. This trade represents a 1,204.82% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have acquired a total of 9,750 shares of company stock worth $2,513,980 over the last quarter. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.5%

ECL opened at $279.07 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $78.54 billion, a PE ratio of 37.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $270.10 and a 200-day moving average of $273.52.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%.The business had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

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.