UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Purchases New Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 25,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,061,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter valued at $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ECL. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Benjamin M. Clark bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $263.83 per share, with a total value of $263,830.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at $285,727.89. This represents a 1,204.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $275.87 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $275.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $273.67. 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 has a market cap of $77.33 billion, a PE ratio of 37.03, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.19%.

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.