Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stock Bought by Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc.

Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 185.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,309 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,450 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,095 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 7.6% during the third quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,988 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 59,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,300,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Polaris Financial Partners purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 8.7% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,252 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $618,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE:ECL traded down $3.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $277.72. 1,146,368 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,449,411. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.15 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $279.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $270.64. The company has a market capitalization of $77.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.28, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%.The company’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total value of $5,003,860.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. This trade represents a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, 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. One investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.67.

Ecolab Profile

Ecolab Inc (NYSE:ECL) is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and related services. The company helps businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations through specialized products, technologies, equipment and on-site expertise.

Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing solutions, water treatment and process-management systems, food safety programs, infection prevention products, pest elimination services and solutions for industrial operations. Ecolab serves customers in industries including hospitality, healthcare, food and beverage production, life sciences, manufacturing, energy, retail and institutional services.

The company was founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory and adopted the Ecolab name in 1986.