Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Bought by HB Wealth Management LLC

HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 11.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,406 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,995 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $7,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 38.7% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its position in Ecolab by 25.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 163,731 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,464,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 100,542 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,394,000 after acquiring an additional 12,890 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 289,572 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $79,302,000 after purchasing an additional 10,792 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total transaction of $2,608,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. The trade was a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michel D. Doukeris bought 7,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $258.00 per share, with a total value of $1,999,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 8,326 shares in the company, valued at $2,148,108. This represents a 1,345.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.71.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $283.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $262.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $272.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.89. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. 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, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend 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.