Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stock Position Increased by Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 14,800 shares during the period. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $19,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 251,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $68,865,000 after purchasing an additional 4,235 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in Ecolab by 0.8% during the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 13,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,670,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.1% in the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,986 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $818,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 472.0% in the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 4,559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,248,000 after buying an additional 3,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 6.8% during the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,994,000 after acquiring an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Evercore ISI upgraded Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Mizuho set a $315.00 price objective on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $299.00 to $291.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $294.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total value of $5,676,256.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,989,868.04. This represents a 23.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total value of $381,451.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,999.50. This represents a 19.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL opened at $271.26 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $262.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $268.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $76.83 billion, a PE ratio of 38.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.07. The firm had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 12.49%.Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.57 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.95%.

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.