Night Squared LP Cuts Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Night Squared LP cut its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 28.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,520 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 10,053 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up approximately 2.5% of Night Squared LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Night Squared LP’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $6,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Group Ltd grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Group Ltd now owns 853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 3.4% during the third quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 4.7% in the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 0.9% in the second quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,625 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.56.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:ECL opened at $274.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $77.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.65, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $309.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $287.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $274.53.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 12.91%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 40.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total value of $6,147,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,907,351.78. This represents a 18.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at $3,505,760.28. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.