Corient Private Wealth LLC Increases Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 22.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,096,726 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 201,519 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC owned about 0.39% of Ecolab worth $287,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 88.7% in the third quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $269.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $75.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.90. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.15 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $261.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $271.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The business’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period 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. On average, research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ECL. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.41.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total transaction of $2,608,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. The trade was a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders bought a total of 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508 over the last quarter. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.