Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 425,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 43,551 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $116,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Circle Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter worth $266,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at $313,000. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 20,008 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,479,000 after acquiring an additional 14,329 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 62.8% during the 3rd quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. now owns 1,249 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 57,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,807,000 after purchasing an additional 8,396 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $274.12 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $287.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $274.50. The company has a market capitalization of $77.29 billion, a PE ratio of 37.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.81 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 12.91%.The firm had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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 predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Robert W. Baird set a $327.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 target price on Ecolab and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ecolab from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the sale, the director owned 11,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total value of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.