Osprey Private Wealth LLC Has $8.02 Million Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Osprey Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 24.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,545 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,035 shares during the quarter. Ecolab accounts for about 2.3% of Osprey Private Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Osprey Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 6,296 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,653,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 21,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,565,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $935,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the period. Midwest Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 124,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,654,000 after acquiring an additional 2,086 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 15,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,086,000 after acquiring an additional 1,871 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ECL. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho set a $335.00 target price on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ecolab from $310.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.53.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $254.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $71.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.04 and a 52-week high of $309.27. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $272.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $272.98.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at $3,505,760.28. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 800 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $256.91 per share, with a total value of $205,528.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 24,230 shares in the company, valued at $6,224,929.30. The trade was a 3.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab 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.