Findlay Park Partners LLP Takes $115.67 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 415,184 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,674,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,327,693 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,649,026,000 after buying an additional 137,578 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth about $6,422,340,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 63.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,788,497,000 after buying an additional 4,110,472 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,883,084 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,069,468,000 after acquiring an additional 441,747 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,635,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,472,599,000 after acquiring an additional 46,569 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of Ecolab 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. The trade was a 23.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Benjamin M. Clark purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $263.83 per share, for a total transaction of $263,830.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at $285,727.89. This trade represents a 1,204.82% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 28,866 shares of company stock worth $7,878,801 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $281.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $276.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.03 billion, a PE ratio of 37.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ECL shares. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Monday, August 17th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.56.

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.