David Maclennan Buys 1,000 Shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Stock

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Director David Maclennan bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at $6,323,899.50. This represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

David Maclennan also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, May 4th, David Maclennan bought 800 shares of Ecolab stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $256.91 per share, with a total value of $205,528.00.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL traded down $0.48 on Thursday, reaching $249.14. The company had a trading volume of 1,584,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,429,312. The company has a fifty day moving average of $268.59 and a 200-day moving average of $272.25. The company has a market capitalization of $70.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.71, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $248.60 and a one year high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC now owns 3,510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $934,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 7,479 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,990,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 10.7% during the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 58.8% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,243,825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $596,902,000 after buying an additional 830,726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter valued at $958,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ECL. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Berenberg Bank raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.53.

About Ecolab

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.