First Trust Advisors LP Lowers Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 977,592 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 49,420 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.35% of Ecolab worth $267,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Corundum Trust Company INC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in Ecolab by 1,177.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 81.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 23,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,933,816. The trade was a 3.37% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director directly owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. This trade represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ecolab from $265.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.56.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:ECL opened at $282.91 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $309.27. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $285.64 and its 200 day moving average is $274.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.77 billion, a PE ratio of 38.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.97.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 12.91%.The business had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. Ecolab’s 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.11%.

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.