Eastern Bank Has $37.57 Million Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Eastern Bank boosted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 134,854 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,807 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $37,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,788,497,000 after acquiring an additional 4,110,472 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $1,022,334,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $880,506,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 26,152.0% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 945,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,810,000 after purchasing an additional 941,472 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 58.8% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,243,825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $596,902,000 after purchasing an additional 830,726 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,323,899.50. This represents a 4.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total value of $2,608,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. This trade represents a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought a total of 9,750 shares of company stock worth $2,513,980 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.5%

ECL opened at $279.07 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.54 billion, a PE ratio of 37.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company’s 50-day moving average is $270.10 and its 200 day moving average is $273.52.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 39.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.56.

Ecolab 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.