Bailard Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Bailard Inc. cut its Ecolab stake by 37.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,171 shares and leaving it with 7,074 shares valued at about $1.86 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Ecolab remains broadly positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $322.53 despite one recent downgrade.
• Ecolab recently reported earnings in line with estimates at $1.70 per share and revenue above expectations, while also raising attention with a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share.

Bailard Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 37.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,074 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,171 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,857,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 88.7% in the 3rd quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 117 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1,375.0% in the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ECL. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane restated an "outperform" rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $326.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $312.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $322.53.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL opened at $249.58 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $268.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $272.25. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $248.60 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The stock has a market cap of $70.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.92.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 39.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Ecolab 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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