Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Ecolab (NYSE:ECL)

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders bought 2,998 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 281% compared to the average volume of 786 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michel D. Doukeris acquired 7,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $258.00 per share, with a total value of $1,999,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 8,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,148,108. The trade was a 1,345.49% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 39.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 22.9% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 0.8% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,684,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised 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 acquiring an additional 19,324 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL stock traded down $1.99 on Thursday, reaching $283.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 198,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,473,065. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $275.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $273.68. Ecolab has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $79.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.88.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

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.