Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Bought by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 16.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,163,724 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 165,737 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $324,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 164.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $867,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 39.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,684,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Ecolab by 49.4% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 58,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,741,000 after purchasing an additional 19,324 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total value of $5,003,860.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michel Doukeris bought 7,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $258.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,148,108. The trade was a 1,345.49% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $279.91 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27. The company has a market capitalization of $78.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.57, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $278.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $272.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.84.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.19%.

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.