Equitable Trust Co. Raises Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Equitable Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 314.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,805 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 4,403 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Avalon Trust Co increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 8.6% in the third quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 977 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ grew its stake in Ecolab by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 81,268 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,256,000 after buying an additional 2,353 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,720 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,019,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 127.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 3,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $977,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,933,816. This trade represents a 3.37% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $305.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $221.62 and a one year high of $306.52. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $279.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 12.91%.The firm had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 40.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $327.00 price objective on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho set a $335.00 target price on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.56.

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.