Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires 53,123 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 997,987 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 53,123 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.35% of Ecolab worth $265,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 23,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,378,000 after buying an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 3.3% in the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 2,267 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Cvfg LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the first quarter worth approximately $207,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its position in Ecolab by 38.2% during the first quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 1,809 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Stockton bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $466,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $272.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.99. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $264.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $273.03. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27. The company has a market cap of $76.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.93, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.89.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.Ecolab’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $293.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $263.83 per share, for a total transaction of $263,830.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $285,727.89. This represents a 1,204.82% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders bought 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.