Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks reports.

ECL has been the subject of several other reports. Mizuho upped their target price on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.56.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $278.45 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $78.06 billion, a PE ratio of 37.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $278.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $272.66. Ecolab has a one year low of $243.15 and a one year high of $309.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.84.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $263.83 per share, with a total value of $263,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at $20,431,170.48. This represents a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ECL. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 26,161.1% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 129,279,498 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,018,561,000 after purchasing an additional 128,787,212 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,422,340,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $244,381,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,788,497,000 after buying an additional 4,110,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $1,022,334,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab Inc (NYSE:ECL) provides water, hygiene, infection prevention and technology solutions to businesses and institutions worldwide. Its customers include restaurants, hotels, hospitals, manufacturers, food and beverage companies, retailers and other organizations that rely on safe, efficient and sustainable operating environments.

The company’s offerings include cleaning and sanitizing products, water-treatment and process-management systems, food-safety programs, infection-prevention solutions and pest-elimination services.