EP Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $12.87 Million Investment in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 46,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,872,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $281.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $79.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.88. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $276.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.73. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $309.27.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors 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 yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total value of $2,608,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at $8,539,712.37. This trade represents a 23.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 28,866 shares of company stock worth $7,878,801 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price objective on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.56.

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.