Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 1,975 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Boston Trust Walden Corp reduced its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 11.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,420 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,975 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Ecolab by 63.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,788,497,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110,472 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,022,334,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $880,506,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 26,152.0% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 945,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,810,000 after buying an additional 941,472 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,591,274 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $417,747,000 after buying an additional 813,996 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.71.

Insider Activity 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 $8,539,712.37. The trade was a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $283.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $79.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.32, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s fifty day moving average is $262.51 and its 200 day moving average is $272.25. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.15 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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 expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.