Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Has $9.18 Million Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. cut its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 52.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 37,700 shares during the quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $9,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,870,000 after buying an additional 6,238 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in Ecolab by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 330,698 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $86,670,000 after acquiring an additional 68,062 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 7.7% during the third quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 48,231 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,240,000 after acquiring an additional 3,464 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 163,731 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,464,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 100,542 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,394,000 after purchasing an additional 12,890 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.9%

ECL stock opened at $283.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $79.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $261.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $271.49. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.70. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm 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. Analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michel D. Doukeris purchased 7,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 8,326 shares in the company, valued at $2,148,108. This trade represents a 1,345.49% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.71.

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.