David Maclennan Acquires 800 Shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Stock

Key Points

• Director David Maclennan purchased 800 shares of Ecolab at an average price of $256.91 (total $205,528), increasing his ownership to 24,230 shares — the transaction was disclosed on an SEC Form 4.
• Ecolab reported Q1 EPS of $1.70 (in line) with revenue of $4.07B (up 10% YoY), set FY2026 guidance of $8.43–$8.63 EPS, and trades around $257 with a market cap of ~$72.8B and a consensus "Moderate Buy" target of $322.53.

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) Director David Maclennan purchased 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $256.91 per share, for a total transaction of $205,528.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 24,230 shares in the company, valued at $6,224,929.30. The trade was a 3.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of ECL traded up $2.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $257.63. 1,117,683 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,405,932. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $275.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $273.28. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $249.04 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The stock has a market cap of $72.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. Ecolab's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $330.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Mizuho set a $335.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $322.53.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.