Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC Takes $678,000 Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $678,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $88,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $2,019,000. Alta Advisers Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $287,000. Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $3,545,000. Finally, Commerce Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $8,661,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on ECL. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho increased their target price on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.56.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2%

ECL stock opened at $281.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $79.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.84, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.15 and a 12 month high of $309.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $276.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $273.73.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%.The business had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,866 shares of company stock worth $7,878,801. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.