Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Receives $321.44 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $322.8235.

Several research firms have recently commented on ECL. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Mizuho set a $335.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,505,760.28. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 164.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 39.8% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in Ecolab by 22.9% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 0.8% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,684,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Ecolab by 49.4% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 58,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,741,000 after purchasing an additional 19,324 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:ECL opened at $270.99 on Wednesday. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $233.73 and a 12 month high of $309.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $280.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $76.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.22, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.02.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 40.11%.

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.