Brasada Capital Management LP Purchases New Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Brasada Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 34,233 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,538,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,422,340,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Ecolab by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,788,497,000 after acquiring an additional 4,110,472 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Ecolab by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,883,084 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,069,468,000 after acquiring an additional 441,747 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter worth approximately $244,381,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 0.8% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 46,569 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.5%

ECL stock opened at $286.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $80.21 billion, a PE ratio of 38.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.88. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.15 and a 12 month high of $309.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $278.01 and its 200 day moving average is $273.70. 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 (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 report on Wednesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.56.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $263.83 per share, with a total value of $263,830.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $285,727.89. This trade represents a 1,204.82% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,539,712.37. This represents a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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.