Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Stock Breaks Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $270.36 and traded as high as $278.13. Ecolab shares last traded at $275.2070, with a volume of 1,502,115 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Ecolab from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Ecolab from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.56.

Ecolab Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $77.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $279.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $270.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.84.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. This trade represents a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Financial Bank Trust Division lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.7% during the third quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 23,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,415,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Ecolab by 2.0% in the third quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 6,534 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 6.9% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,606 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,903,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Altus USA Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 64.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab Inc (NYSE:ECL) is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and related services. The company helps businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations through specialized products, technologies, equipment and on-site expertise.

Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing solutions, water treatment and process-management systems, food safety programs, infection prevention products, pest elimination services and solutions for industrial operations. Ecolab serves customers in industries including hospitality, healthcare, food and beverage production, life sciences, manufacturing, energy, retail and institutional services.

The company was founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory and adopted the Ecolab name in 1986.