Madison Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Madison Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 67,080 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,862 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $17,845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $53,000. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,177 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $579,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 653.2% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 836 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 14.8% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 approximately $8,539,712.37. This represents a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michel D. Doukeris acquired 7,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $258.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 8,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,148,108. This represents a 1,345.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508 in the last 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ECL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Bank of America upped their target price on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.06.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.8%

ECL stock opened at $268.02 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $265.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $273.11. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.15 and a 52-week high of $309.27. The firm has a market cap of $75.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.27, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.89.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

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.