Diversify Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 2,001 Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Diversify Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,001 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $513,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 14.7% during the first quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 54.1% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 28,701 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,635,000 after purchasing an additional 10,081 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 16.8% in the first quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 897 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 10,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,713,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Midwest Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% in the first quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 126,729 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,342 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on 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 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $324.06.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $272.91 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $264.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.03. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The firm has a market cap of $76.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.93, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.89.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced 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 firm 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 business’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $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. Analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total value of $2,608,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. This represents a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.