Glenview Trust Co Acquires 18,405 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Glenview Trust Co grew its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 17.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 126,273 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,405 shares during the quarter. Glenview Trust Co’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $33,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in Ecolab by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 330,698 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $86,670,000 after purchasing an additional 68,062 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,870,000 after purchasing an additional 6,238 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 163,731 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,464,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 100,542 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,394,000 after buying an additional 12,890 shares during the period. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 1,167.3% during the fourth quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 39,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,466,000 after buying an additional 36,723 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $324.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Benjamin M. Clark acquired 1,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $263.83 per share, with a total value of $263,830.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,727.89. This trade represents a 1,204.82% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE:ECL opened at $268.02 on Tuesday. 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 capitalization of $75.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.27, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $265.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.11.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. Analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

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.