Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Sells 2,692 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd decreased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 15.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,692 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 164.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 39.8% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 22.9% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Ecolab by 49.4% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 58,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,741,000 after buying an additional 19,324 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ECL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Bank of America increased their target price on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings cut Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total transaction of $2,608,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at $8,539,712.37. This trade represents a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $268.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $265.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $273.11. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.15 and a 52-week high of $309.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.27, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.89.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.