Ecolab Inc. $ECL Position Cut by Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI

Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI trimmed its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,453 shares during the quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,870,000 after purchasing an additional 6,238 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in Ecolab by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 330,698 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $86,670,000 after purchasing an additional 68,062 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 7.7% in the third quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 48,231 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,240,000 after purchasing an additional 3,464 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its position in Ecolab by 19.9% in the third quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 83,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,834,000 after purchasing an additional 13,840 shares during the period. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in Ecolab by 40.2% in the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 45,495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,459,000 after purchasing an additional 13,053 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $312.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 1,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $256.28 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $261.94 and a 200-day moving average of $271.50. The company has a market capitalization of $72.13 billion, a PE ratio of 34.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.90. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $243.15 and a one year high of $309.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.51%.

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.