Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 35,136 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 76.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 80,954 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 35,136 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $21,535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total transaction of $2,608,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,539,712.37. The trade was a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $268.73 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $266.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.36, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.89. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $324.06.

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.