Burnham & Co LLC Purchases Shares of 3,820 Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Burnham & Co. acquired 3,820 Ecolab shares worth approximately $1.06 million in the second quarter, while institutional investors collectively own 74.91% of Ecolab’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Ecolab receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $327.56.
• Ecolab exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $2.09 in EPS and $4.42 billion in revenue, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share.

Burnham & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,820 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,064,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Robinhood Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $17,402,000. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $3,137,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $158,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $154,000. Finally, OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $327.56.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2%

ECL opened at $281.91 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.03 billion, a PE ratio of 37.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company's 50-day moving average is $276.56 and its 200 day moving average is $273.73.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark acquired 1,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $263.83 per share, with a total value of $263,830.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $285,727.89. This trade represents a 1,204.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total value of $2,608,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at $8,539,712.37. This represents a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,866 shares of company stock valued at $7,878,801. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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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