25,343 Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL Bought by UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 25,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,061,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.56.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $275.87 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $275.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.67. The company has a market cap of $77.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.03, a PEG ratio of 2.38 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 (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%.The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 39.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director Michel D. Doukeris bought 7,750 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $258.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 8,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,148,108. This trade represents a 1,345.49% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. This trade represents a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company 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.