Financial & Tax Architects LLC Sells 3,706 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Financial & Tax Architects LLC trimmed its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 14.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,706 shares during the period. Financial & Tax Architects LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,327,693 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,649,026,000 after buying an additional 137,578 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,788,497,000 after acquiring an additional 4,110,472 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,883,084 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,069,468,000 after acquiring an additional 441,747 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,635,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,472,599,000 after acquiring an additional 46,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,022,334,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.71.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director Michel D. Doukeris bought 7,750 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $258.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,500.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 8,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,148,108. This represents a 1,345.49% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Benjamin M. Clark bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $263.83 per share, with a total value of $263,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at $285,727.89. This represents a 1,204.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of ECL stock opened at $278.50 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $78.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.69, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $261.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $271.91. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 39.51%.

Ecolab Company 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.