4,992 Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Purchased by Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA

Key Points

• Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors increased its Ecolab stake by 4.3% in the third quarter, purchasing 4,992 shares and bringing its holdings to 121,571 shares valued at $33.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 74.91% of Ecolab.
• Ecolab reported quarterly EPS of $2.09, slightly exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 9.7% year over year to $4.42 billion. The company guided for third-quarter 2026 EPS of $2.13–$2.23.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $324.50, compared with the stock’s reported $288.52 price. Ecolab also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.73, yielding about 1.0% annually.

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA grew its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 4.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121,571 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,992 shares during the quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA's holdings in Ecolab were worth $33,381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 3,576 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $999,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd now owns 2,859 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $797,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,117 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,218 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Altus USA Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 64.2% in the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of ECL opened at $288.52 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $80.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.73, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.84. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $280.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $272.57.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 39.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. Mizuho upped their price target on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $337.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $324.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at $20,431,170.48. This represents a 19.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Profile

Ecolab Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and cleaning solutions for businesses and institutions. The company helps customers manage water and energy use, maintain sanitary operations, protect food supplies and comply with health and safety standards.

Ecolab serves customers across industries including food and beverage processing, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, institutional facilities and energy. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, water-treatment and process-management systems, pest-control services, kitchen and housekeeping products, infection-prevention programs, and related equipment, training and consulting services.

Founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, the company has expanded from its original focus on cleaning products into a broad range of technology-enabled services and solutions.

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