Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) COO Darrell Brown Sells 10,000 Shares

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) COO Darrell Brown sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total value of $2,608,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. This trade represents a 23.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL traded down $7.72 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $256.72. 1,826,895 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,500,183. The company has a market cap of $72.25 billion, a PE ratio of 34.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.15 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $261.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $271.36.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. 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 forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 309,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $82,227,000 after purchasing an additional 4,138 shares during the last quarter. Farmers National Bank lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 9,966 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,651,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. DV Trading LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $245,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 25,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,676,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Nebraska Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $290,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.41.

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.