M&T Bank Corp Has $129.56 Million Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 594.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 493,525 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 422,471 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $129,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 64.5% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 878,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $240,676,000 after purchasing an additional 344,541 shares during the period. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 25.8% in the third quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 72,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $19,773,000 after purchasing an additional 14,800 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 20.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 66,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,254,000 after purchasing an additional 11,322 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions grew its holdings in Ecolab by 19.9% in the third quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 83,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,834,000 after purchasing an additional 13,840 shares during the period. Finally, McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 162.4% in the third quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 5,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 3,320 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.7%

Ecolab stock opened at $270.99 on Wednesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $233.73 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $280.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $273.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.11%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,907,351.78. This trade represents a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at $3,505,760.28. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.82.

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.