First National Advisers LLC Decreases Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

First National Advisers LLC decreased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 40.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,975 shares during the quarter. First National Advisers LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth $26,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1,375.0% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 88.7% in the third quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $256.91 per share, for a total transaction of $205,528.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 24,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,224,929.30. The trade was a 3.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of Ecolab 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:ECL opened at $251.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.05, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.92. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $248.75 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $269.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $272.43. 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 (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. 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 anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $310.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 price target (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four 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 $322.53.

Ecolab Profile

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.