Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Purchases New Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 11,158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,109,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth $6,422,340,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 4,110,472 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $1,022,334,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $880,506,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $413,381,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michel D. Doukeris acquired 7,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $258.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,326 shares in the company, valued at $2,148,108. This represents a 1,345.49% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total transaction of $2,608,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,866 shares of company stock worth $7,878,801. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of ECL opened at $287.03 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $276.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $273.69. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.15 and a 12 month high of $309.27. The company has a market capitalization of $80.46 billion, a PE ratio of 38.53, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.56.

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.