Dakota Wealth Management Trims Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Dakota Wealth Management cut its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 44.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,998 shares during the quarter. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 64.5% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 878,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $240,676,000 after purchasing an additional 344,541 shares during the last quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab by 25.8% in the third quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 72,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $19,773,000 after buying an additional 14,800 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 20.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 66,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,254,000 after acquiring an additional 11,322 shares in the last quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 162.4% during the third quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 5,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,469,000 after acquiring an additional 3,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.7% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 597,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $163,744,000 after acquiring an additional 9,837 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were purchased 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,933,816. The trade was a 3.37% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total value of $390,454.90. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. This trade represents a 10.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.0%

ECL opened at $306.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $281.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.97. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $221.62 and a 1-year high of $309.27. 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 (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 12.91%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. 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 expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ECL. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $312.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.56.

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.