Capstone Investment Advisors LLC Makes New $835,000 Investment in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,998 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at $6,422,340,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,788,497,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110,472 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Ecolab by 5.9% in the 4th 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. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $244,381,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,635,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,472,599,000 after buying an additional 46,569 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ECL. Zacks Research lowered Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.56.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of ECL opened at $287.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $80.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.88. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $278.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $273.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab’s 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $263.83 per share, for a total transaction of $263,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $285,727.89. This represents a 1,204.82% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total value of $5,003,860.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.