Orser Capital Management LLC Buys New Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Orser Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $947,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 63.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,788,497,000 after buying an additional 4,110,472 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $1,022,334,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $880,506,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 941,472 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Ecolab by 58.8% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,243,825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $596,902,000 after acquiring an additional 830,726 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on ECL shares. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price objective on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $263.83 per share, with a total value of $263,830.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at $285,727.89. This trade represents a 1,204.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have acquired 9,750 shares of company stock worth $2,513,980 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.8%

ECL stock opened at $283.29 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $79.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.88. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $271.60 and its 200-day moving average is $273.68.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%.The business had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. Ecolab’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. Equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.