Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. Acquires Shares of 3,701 Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,701 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 39.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,684,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Ecolab by 49.4% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 58,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,741,000 after buying an additional 19,324 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $280.73 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $276.23 and its 200-day moving average is $273.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.68, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.88.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given 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 dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price target on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Monday. Finally, Mizuho increased 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.56.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,431,170.48. This represents a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Benjamin M. Clark purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $263.83 per share, for a total transaction of $263,830.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 1,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $285,727.89. The trade was a 1,204.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 28,866 shares of company stock valued at $7,878,801 over the last quarter. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Ecolab

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.