Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stake Cut by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC cut its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 12.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 69,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 10,310 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $19,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 4,609 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,266,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,052 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $838,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 61.7% in the third quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.6% in the third quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 43,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107 shares during the period. Finally, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% during the third quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL traded up $3.46 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $281.56. The company had a trading volume of 344,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,443,541. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $279.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $270.64. The company has a market capitalization of $78.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.86, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.87.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. The firm’s 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 expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lifted 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.67.

Ecolab 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.