Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Acquired by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 88,922 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 3,666 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $24,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,190,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,898,565,000 after buying an additional 527,902 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 195.9% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 670,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $183,699,000 after buying an additional 444,053 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 115.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 727,370 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $193,753,000 after buying an additional 389,981 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $97,664,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 64.5% in 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 buying an additional 344,541 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $268.85 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $229.39 and a one year high of $309.27. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $281.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.02.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly 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. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 40.11%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was 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. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $321.44.

Ecolab Company 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.