Ecolab Inc. $ECL Position Increased by Valley National Advisers Inc.

Key Points

• Valley National Advisers increased its Ecolab position by 1,760.7% in the third quarter, ending with 8,950 shares valued at approximately $2.46 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 74.91% of Ecolab.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $324.50; several firms recently raised their targets.
• Ecolab reported quarterly EPS of $2.09, slightly above estimates, while revenue rose 9.7% year over year to $4.42 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, representing a 1.0% annualized yield.

Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 1,760.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,950 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,469 shares during the quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter worth $6,422,340,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $244,381,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1.5% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,617,425 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,007,851,000 after buying an additional 51,712 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Ecolab by 3.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,412,057 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $641,609,000 after acquiring an additional 88,096 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Ecolab by 58.8% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,243,825 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $596,902,000 after purchasing an additional 830,726 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total value of $5,003,860.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on Ecolab from $299.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings raised Ecolab from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $324.50.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $288.52 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $280.53 and a 200-day moving average of $272.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $80.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.73, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.87.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%. Ecolab's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.19%.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and cleaning solutions for businesses and institutions. The company helps customers manage water and energy use, maintain sanitary operations, protect food supplies and comply with health and safety standards.

Ecolab serves customers across industries including food and beverage processing, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, institutional facilities and energy. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, water-treatment and process-management systems, pest-control services, kitchen and housekeeping products, infection-prevention programs, and related equipment, training and consulting services.

Founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, the company has expanded from its original focus on cleaning products into a broad range of technology-enabled services and solutions.

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