Insider Selling: Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) COO Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) COO Darrell Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total value of $2,608,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. This trade represents a 23.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL traded down $7.72 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $256.72. 1,826,895 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,500,183. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.99. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $261.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.36.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. The company 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company 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 predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.48 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 63.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,788,497,000 after acquiring an additional 4,110,472 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $1,022,334,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $880,506,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 26,152.0% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 945,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,810,000 after acquiring an additional 941,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 58.8% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,243,825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $596,902,000 after acquiring an additional 830,726 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Bank of America increased their price target on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho set a $335.00 price target on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.41.

Ecolab Company 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.