Citigroup Inc. Sells 22,998 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Citigroup Inc. trimmed its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 222,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 22,998 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $60,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ECL. Corundum Trust Company INC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 81.5% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ecolab from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.56.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of ECL stock opened at $305.39 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.99. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $306.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $279.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $273.27.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,933,816. The trade was a 3.37% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company 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.