Cullinan Associates Inc. Decreases Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Cullinan Associates Inc. lowered its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 11.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 22,326 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,874 shares during the quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,327,693 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,649,026,000 after buying an additional 137,578 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,788,497,000 after acquiring an additional 4,110,472 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,883,084 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,069,468,000 after acquiring an additional 441,747 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,635,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,472,599,000 after acquiring an additional 46,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $1,022,334,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $293.00 to $325.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $324.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the 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 transaction, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $1.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $274.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 649,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,563,529. The company has a 50-day moving average of $263.62 and a 200-day moving average of $272.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $77.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89. 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, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 39.51%.

Ecolab Company 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.