Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lessened its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,091 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,610 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $16,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 4.3% in the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 3.4% in the third quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kampmann Melissa S. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Kampmann Melissa S. now owns 13,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,746,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ecolab from $310.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Ecolab from $312.00 to $293.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,907,351.78. This represents a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,323,899.50. This represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $249.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.72, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.92. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $245.25 and a one year high of $309.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $265.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. 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, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Ecolab Company 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.