22,336 Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL Acquired by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 22,336 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,223,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 164.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 39.8% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,684,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 49.4% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 58,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,741,000 after purchasing an additional 19,324 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Benjamin M. Clark acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $263.83 per share, for a total transaction of $263,830.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at $285,727.89. The trade was a 1,204.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.56.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $276.28 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $77.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $274.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $273.73. 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 1.57, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

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.