Westpac Banking Corp Makes New $695,000 Investment in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 2,495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $695,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Iyo Bank Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,887,000. TRB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $246,000. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. bought a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter worth $3,244,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $453,000. Finally, Korea Investment CORP purchased a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $42,491,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.56.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $281.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $276.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.73. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The company has a market capitalization of $79.03 billion, a PE ratio of 37.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total transaction of $2,608,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. This trade represents a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Benjamin M. Clark purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $263.83 per share, with a total value of $263,830.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $285,727.89. This trade represents a 1,204.82% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold 28,866 shares of company stock worth $7,878,801 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.