Donaldson Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Donaldson Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,868 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,688 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Corundum Trust Company INC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 1,177.8% during the third 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 period. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 1,375.0% during the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on ECL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.56.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. This represents a 18.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total value of $390,454.90. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of ECL opened at $260.82 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $221.62 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The company has a market capitalization of $73.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $285.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $273.73.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio 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.