Blair William & Co. IL Has $217.48 Million Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 794,143 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 11,013 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $217,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 64.5% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 878,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $240,676,000 after buying an additional 344,541 shares during the last quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab by 25.8% during the third quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 72,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $19,773,000 after acquiring an additional 14,800 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 20.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 66,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,254,000 after acquiring an additional 11,322 shares during the last quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 162.4% in the 3rd quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 5,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 3,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 597,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $163,744,000 after purchasing an additional 9,837 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at $3,505,760.28. This trade represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,933,816. This represents a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 price target (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.56.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.4%

ECL opened at $282.91 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $285.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $274.69. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $221.62 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The company has a market cap of $79.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released 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. The company had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. Analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.11%.

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.