Krilogy Financial LLC Buys Shares of 3,324 Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Krilogy Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $861,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in Ecolab by 64.5% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 878,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $240,676,000 after acquiring an additional 344,541 shares during the last quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 72,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $19,773,000 after purchasing an additional 14,800 shares during the last quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. raised its position in Ecolab by 162.4% in the 3rd quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 5,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 3,320 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 20.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 66,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,254,000 after purchasing an additional 11,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its position in Ecolab by 1.7% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 597,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $163,744,000 after buying an additional 9,837 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total transaction of $381,451.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,999.50. This represents a 19.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at $5,933,816. This trade represents a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ecolab from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird set a $327.00 price objective on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $265.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.06.

Key Stories Impacting Ecolab

Here are the key news stories impacting Ecolab this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results: Ecolab posted a slight EPS beat and provided FY?2026 guidance (8.43–8.63 EPS), which supports forward earnings visibility. Q4 2025 earnings call transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades: BNP Paribas Exane moved ECL to a “strong?buy” (and earlier reaffirmed an outperform with a higher price target), adding buy?side momentum around the name. Zacks – BNP Paribas upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Additional broker support: Evercore ISI issued a buy rating, and other analysts have raised targets (analyst commentary suggests fair values in the low?to?mid $300s), reinforcing upside narratives. Evercore ISI buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst fair?value discussion: Coverage noted an average analyst view around US$317 post?results, which frames where market participants expect ECL to trade over the medium term. Yahoo Finance – $317 analyst view
• Neutral Sentiment: Style/quant coverage: Zacks highlighted Ecolab as a top?ranked growth/style pick, which may attract style?focused funds but has limited immediate price impact. Zacks – Top?ranked growth stock
• Negative Sentiment: Concerns on organic growth: Some analysts/commentary argue Ecolab’s organic growth wasn’t strong enough to fully justify upgrades, raising questions about the sustainability of the recent run. Seeking Alpha – organic growth critique

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $298.90 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $274.00 and a 200 day moving average of $271.55. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $221.62 and a 52 week high of $306.52. The company has a market cap of $84.66 billion, a PE ratio of 41.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.11%.

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.