Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Bought by Corient Private Wealth LLC

Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 969,709 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 74,502 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $254,700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ECL. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Union Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at $8,539,712.37. This trade represents a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2%

ECL opened at $269.71 on Friday. 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 one year low of $243.15 and a one year high of $309.27. The company has a market cap of $75.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.50, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $261.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.16.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given 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 is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.41.

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.