HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 7,890 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,690 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,890 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $23,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corundum Trust Company INC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 1,177.8% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 81.5% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 93.6% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ECL. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho set a $335.00 price target on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $312.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.76.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL opened at $302.61 on Thursday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $306.52. The company has a market capitalization of $85.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $276.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.11%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at $5,933,816. The trade was a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total transaction of $381,451.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,999.50. The trade was a 19.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.