S&G Foundation Buys New Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

S&G Foundation purchased a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 9,740 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,714,000. Ecolab makes up about 0.1% of S&G Foundation’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,327,693 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,649,026,000 after purchasing an additional 137,578 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,422,340,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Ecolab by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,788,497,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110,472 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Ecolab by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,883,084 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,069,468,000 after purchasing an additional 441,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,635,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,472,599,000 after buying an additional 46,569 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.56.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the sale, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Benjamin M. Clark bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $263.83 per share, for a total transaction of $263,830.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at $285,727.89. This trade represents a 1,204.82% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 28,866 shares of company stock valued at $7,878,801 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $281.91 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $276.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $273.73. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market cap of $79.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.88.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. Ecolab’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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

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.