Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. Buys Shares of 27,191 Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 27,191 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,138,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 4.3% in the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.4% in the third quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kampmann Melissa S. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Kampmann Melissa S. now owns 13,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,746,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $245.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $69.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.24, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $265.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its 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. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. Ecolab’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. On average, analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 39.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ECL. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $312.00 to $293.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $330.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $321.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. This trade represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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.