Carnegie Investment Counsel Sells 4,848 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Carnegie Investment Counsel lowered its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 133,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,848 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $35,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Ecolab by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,327,693 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,649,026,000 after acquiring an additional 137,578 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake 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 worth $2,788,497,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110,472 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,883,084 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,069,468,000 after purchasing an additional 441,747 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 0.8% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,022,334,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. 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 report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.29.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $1.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $274.60. 649,597 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,563,529. 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 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.28 billion, a PE ratio of 37.16, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $263.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.81.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. Ecolab’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $263.83 per share, for a total transaction of $263,830.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at $285,727.89. This represents a 1,204.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company 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.