Bank of Montreal Can Boosts Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 11.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 277,289 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 28,578 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.10% of Ecolab worth $75,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ECL. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Ecolab by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,159,989 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $591,535,000 after acquiring an additional 63,629 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 67.8% during the 3rd quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 889 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.8% during the third quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 21,465 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,789,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.1% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,803 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,971,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Advisors increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 1,032 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $276.97 on Thursday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month 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. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $286.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $274.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.10 billion, a PE ratio of 38.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total value of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. This represents a 18.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total value of $390,454.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,505,760.28. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ECL. Robert W. Baird set a $327.00 target price on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab 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.