Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Increases Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,008 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 14,329 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 164.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 39.8% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 22.9% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Ecolab by 5.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 49,322 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,289,000 after acquiring an additional 2,482 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Ecolab by 0.3% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 64,964 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,504,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director 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. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $265.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho set a $335.00 target price on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.71.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $273.29 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $287.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $274.41. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $221.62 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.06 billion, a PE ratio of 37.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.97.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued 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 net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The company had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.11%.

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.