Mcdonald Capital Investors Inc. CA Has $84.61 Million Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Mcdonald Capital Investors Inc. CA decreased its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 308,963 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,159 shares during the quarter. Ecolab accounts for about 5.3% of Mcdonald Capital Investors Inc. CA’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Mcdonald Capital Investors Inc. CA’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $84,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Corundum Trust Company INC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter worth $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in Ecolab by 1,177.8% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 81.5% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 93.6% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas Exane restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 target price (up previously from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $265.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $312.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 23,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,933,816. This trade represents a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $304.07 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.77, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.99. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $306.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $278.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $273.02.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio 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.