Midwest Trust Co Has $32.65 Million Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Midwest Trust Co lifted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 124,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,086 shares during the quarter. Midwest Trust Co’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $32,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 0.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 137,578 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Ecolab by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,860,283 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,013,557,000 after purchasing an additional 202,449 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Ecolab by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,159,989 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $591,535,000 after purchasing an additional 63,629 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Ecolab by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,718,633 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $453,857,000 after purchasing an additional 65,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Ecolab by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,415,887 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $387,748,000 after purchasing an additional 11,661 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of ECL opened at $254.07 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $249.04 and a 12 month high of $309.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $272.95 and its 200-day moving average is $272.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.76 billion, a PE ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $312.00 to $293.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.53.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,224,929.30. This trade represents a 3.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at $27,907,351.78. This represents a 18.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.