NewEdge Wealth LLC Decreases Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

NewEdge Wealth LLC cut its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 14.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,349 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,216 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter worth about $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 1,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,323,899.50. The trade was a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michel D. Doukeris acquired 7,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $258.00 per share, with a total value of $1,999,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,326 shares in the company, valued at $2,148,108. This represents a 1,345.49% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders bought 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ECL. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $324.06.

Ecolab Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of ECL opened at $268.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $266.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.12. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The stock has a market cap of $75.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.89.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 39.51%.

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.