Glenview Trust Co Purchases Shares of 134,858 Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Glenview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 134,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,573,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,422,340,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 4,110,472 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Ecolab by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,883,084 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,069,468,000 after acquiring an additional 441,747 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $244,381,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 46,569 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total transaction of $2,608,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at $8,539,712.37. The trade was a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $20,431,170.48. This represents a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ECL. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.56.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $286.13 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $278.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.70. 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 company has a market cap of $80.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.88.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.73 dividend. 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 (DPR) is 39.19%.

Ecolab 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.