Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Sells 2,573 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,344 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,573 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $10,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,422,340,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter worth $244,381,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Ecolab by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,788,497,000 after acquiring an additional 4,110,472 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,022,334,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $880,506,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 target price on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.56.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE ECL opened at $279.91 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $278.82 and a 200-day moving average of $272.99. The firm has a market cap of $78.47 billion, a PE ratio of 37.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.88.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.19%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Darrell Brown sold 10,000 shares of Ecolab 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,539,712.37. The trade was a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Benjamin Clark purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $263.83 per share, with a total value of $263,830.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at $285,727.89. The trade was a 1,204.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.