Carnegie Investment Counsel Sells 4,848 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Carnegie Investment Counsel trimmed its Ecolab stake by 3.5% in the first quarter, selling 4,848 shares and leaving it with 133,778 shares worth about $35.6 million.
• Ecolab reported solid quarterly results, matching EPS estimates at $1.70 and beating revenue expectations with $4.07 billion in sales, up 10% year over year.
• Management and analysts remain active on the stock: an executive vice president bought shares while the COO sold shares, and Wall Street’s average rating stays at Moderate Buy with a $324.29 target price.

Carnegie Investment Counsel decreased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 133,778 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,848 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings in Ecolab were worth $35,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 211 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 764 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 730 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.6%

Ecolab stock traded up $1.57 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $274.60. 649,597 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,563,529. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.28 billion, a PE ratio of 37.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $263.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27.

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 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 analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter 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 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $263.83 per share, with a total value of $263,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at $285,727.89. This trade represents a 1,204.82% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total value of $2,608,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. The trade was a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ECL. Citigroup raised their target price on Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ecolab from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $324.29.

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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