JPMorgan Chase & Co. Grows Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 63.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,110,472 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,788,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Ecolab by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,327,693 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,649,026,000 after buying an additional 137,578 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 0.8% during 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 period. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,022,334,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in Ecolab by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,860,283 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,013,557,000 after buying an additional 202,449 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $880,506,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ECL. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.53.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $257.41 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $261.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.35. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $72.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.83, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the sale, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.