2,589 Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL Purchased by Pallas Capital Advisors LLC

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,589 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $721,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ECL. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 68,062 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Ecolab by 38.7% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH increased 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 purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 21,488 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,641,000 after purchasing an additional 4,886 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 251,977 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,149,000 after purchasing an additional 20,247 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One investment 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.56.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $285.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $79.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $275.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $273.68. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $243.15 and a one year high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at $8,539,712.37. This trade represents a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Company 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.