Bank of New York Mellon Corp Acquires 77,255 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon increased its Ecolab stake by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 77,255 shares and bringing its total holding to 1,516,712 shares valued at about $398.2 million.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Ecolab, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $322.53, though some firms have recently raised or lowered their targets.
• Ecolab reported Q1 earnings of $1.70 per share, matching expectations, on revenue of $4.07 billion, and the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share payable July 15.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,516,712 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 77,255 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.54% of Ecolab worth $398,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 39.8% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 22.9% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,096 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,684,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 49.4% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 58,421 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $15,741,000 after buying an additional 19,324 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ECL. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $330.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ecolab from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $322.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the sale, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $254.60 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $261.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $271.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.45, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.90.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $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. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.51%.

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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