Cresset Asset Management LLC Buys 3,464 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 7.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,231 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,464 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $13,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ECL. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its position in Ecolab by 22.9% during 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 in the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $203,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 93.6% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,933,816. This trade represents a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total value of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.56.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL opened at $297.73 on Thursday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $284.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $274.59. The company has a market capitalization of $83.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.97.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.11%.

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.