Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Bought by Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE grew its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 101.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 40,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,587 shares during the quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $10,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,870,000 after acquiring an additional 6,238 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 330,698 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $86,670,000 after purchasing an additional 68,062 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 7.7% during the third quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 48,231 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,240,000 after purchasing an additional 3,464 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 163,731 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,464,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Finally, ABN Amro Investment Solutions grew its position in Ecolab by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 83,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $22,834,000 after buying an additional 13,840 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total transaction of $2,608,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. This trade represents a 23.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.41.

Ecolab Trading Down 2.9%

NYSE ECL opened at $256.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.99. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $243.15 and a one year high of $309.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $261.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.25 billion, a PE ratio of 34.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.90.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. Ecolab’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.51%.

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.