Winthrop Partners WNY LLC Takes Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Winthrop Partners WNY LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $573,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Union Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 1,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. The trade was a 4.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michel D. Doukeris purchased 7,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $258.00 per share, with a total value of $1,999,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,326 shares in the company, valued at $2,148,108. This trade represents a 1,345.49% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired a total of 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ECL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $293.00 to $325.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $330.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.41.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2%

Ecolab stock opened at $269.71 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $261.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $271.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.50, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.90.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced 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 return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

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.