Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Takes $775,000 Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.56.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $280.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $78.70 billion, a PE ratio of 37.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $276.23 and a 200-day moving average of $273.67. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.15 and a 52-week high of $309.27.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total value of $5,003,860.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% 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, 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 transaction, the director directly owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,866 shares of company stock valued at $7,878,801. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.