Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stock: Vest Financial LLC Raises Holdings

Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 183,614 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,326 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Ecolab worth $50,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 3,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $999,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in Ecolab by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd now owns 2,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $797,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 3.8% in the first quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 3.6% in the third quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Altus USA Inc. grew its stake in Ecolab by 64.2% in the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $287.96 on Thursday. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27. The stock has a market cap of $80.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.65, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $279.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $272.21.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. This represents a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Ecolab from $287.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $324.50.

Ecolab Company Profile

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.