Seaport Res Ptn Weighs in on Ecolab’s Q3 Earnings (NYSE:ECL)

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) – Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn upped their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Ecolab in a report released on Wednesday, April 30th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now forecasts that the basic materials company will post earnings of $2.08 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $2.07. Seaport Res Ptn currently has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Ecolab’s current full-year earnings is $7.54 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ecolab’s Q1 2026 earnings at $1.83 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.18 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.31 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.29 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.62 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $282.47.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $255.14 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $248.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $247.79. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $220.96 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.