13,379 Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL Purchased by AlpenGlobal Capital LLC

AlpenGlobal Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,559,000. Ecolab makes up about 2.3% of AlpenGlobal Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 997,987 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $265,210,000 after acquiring an additional 53,123 shares in the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 23,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,378,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 2,267 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cvfg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth $207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought a total of 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508 in the last quarter. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ECL. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.29.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.6%

Ecolab stock opened at $274.60 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $263.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $272.81. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.15 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The company has a market capitalization of $77.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.89.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. Ecolab’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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.51%.

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.