Groupe la Francaise Boosts Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Groupe la Francaise lifted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 88.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,596 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,208 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the acquisition, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price target on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their target price on Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.56.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE ECL opened at $277.83 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $269.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.84. The company has a market cap of $78.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.89. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $243.15 and a one year high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

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.