Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stock Holdings Decreased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,650,916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 131,915 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $725,980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 5.0% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,787 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Ecolab by 4.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,995 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,310,000 after buying an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Ecolab by 0.8% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,415,887 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $387,748,000 after buying an additional 11,661 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 757,547 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $207,462,000 after buying an additional 6,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 277,289 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $75,938,000 after acquiring an additional 28,578 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $345.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $327.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.56.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.6%

Ecolab stock opened at $276.97 on Thursday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $309.27. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $78.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.05, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $286.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $274.55.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced 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 company had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. Ecolab’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, 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 transaction of $390,454.90. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.