First Growth Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 2,435 Ecolab Inc. $ECL

First Growth Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,435 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $656,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. grew its position in Ecolab by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $274.60 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $243.15 and a one year high of $309.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $263.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.28 billion, a PE ratio of 37.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.89.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released 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 company had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. 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, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.15 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 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.29.

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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 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.