Arlington Trust Co LLC Cuts Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Arlington Trust Co LLC cut its stake in Ecolab by 88.3% in Q4, selling 3,757 shares and leaving it with 500 shares worth $131,000.
• Ecolab reported Q4 EPS of $2.08 (vs. $2.07 est.) and revenue of $4.19B (vs. $4.20B est.), and set FY2026 guidance of 8.430–8.630 EPS with Q1 guidance of 1.670–1.730.
• Insiders materially sold stock: CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares (~$6.15M) and director Tracy B. McKibben sold 1,265 shares (~$390k), with insiders now owning 0.50% of the company.

Arlington Trust Co LLC trimmed its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 88.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 500 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,757 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Corundum Trust Company INC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1,177.8% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1,375.0% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:ECL opened at $268.45 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $236.50 and a 12 month high of $309.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $278.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $75.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.87, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.02.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 40.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,358 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,505,760.28. This trade represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. This trade represents a 18.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on ECL. Mizuho set a $335.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. BNP Paribas Exane restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $345.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $310.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $322.82.

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.

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