Deutsche Bank AG Purchases New Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 821,022 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,745,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $280.36 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.84. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $243.15 and a one year high of $309.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.63, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s fifty day moving average is $275.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.66.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on ECL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings cut Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.56.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the business’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 sale, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. This represents a 23.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.