Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stock Purchased by IFP Advisors Inc

IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 315.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,353 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,063 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% during the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 3,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Vancity Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd now owns 2,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $797,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in Ecolab by 3.6% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Altus USA Inc. increased its stake in Ecolab by 64.2% during 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 currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $287.96 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $279.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $272.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $80.72 billion, a PE ratio of 36.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.87. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.15 and a 12 month high of $309.27.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 39.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on ECL shares. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $287.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $342.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.50.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at $20,431,170.48. This represents a 19.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and cleaning solutions for businesses and institutions. The company helps customers manage water and energy use, maintain sanitary operations, protect food supplies and comply with health and safety standards.

Ecolab serves customers across industries including food and beverage processing, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, institutional facilities and energy. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, water-treatment and process-management systems, pest-control services, kitchen and housekeeping products, infection-prevention programs, and related equipment, training and consulting services.

Founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, the company has expanded from its original focus on cleaning products into a broad range of technology-enabled services and solutions.