Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 5,478 Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 5,478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,526,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $6,649,026,000 after acquiring an additional 137,578 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 63.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.9% during 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,022,334,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $263.83 per share, with a total value of $263,830.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at $285,727.89. This represents a 1,204.82% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.0%

ECL stock opened at $276.28 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.15 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $274.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.80.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 39.19%.

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.