Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Acquired by Douglas Lane & Associates LLC

Key Points

• Douglas Lane & Associates increased its Ecolab stake by 27.9% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 42,930 shares valued at approximately $11.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 74.91% of Ecolab.
• Analyst sentiment is favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $327.67. Recent upgrades and target increases came from Mizuho, Citigroup, JPMorgan, Weiss Ratings and Zacks Research.
• Ecolab reported quarterly EPS of $2.09 and revenue of $4.42 billion, both slightly above expectations, while revenue grew 9.7% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, representing a 1.0% annualized yield.

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 27.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,930 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,367 shares during the quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $11,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $115,674,000. Cornerstone Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $16,698,000. Saudi Central Bank raised its stake in Ecolab by 89.1% in the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 17,793 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,957,000 after acquiring an additional 8,384 shares during the period. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,932,000. Finally, Moore Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at $7,298,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Zacks Research upgraded Ecolab from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 7th. Mizuho upped 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. Citigroup increased their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $327.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

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

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $282.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 255,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,440,676. 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 stock has a market cap of $79.12 billion, a PE ratio of 37.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $279.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $270.82.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.38 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.19%.

Ecolab Profile

Ecolab Inc NYSE: ECL is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and related services. The company helps businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations through specialized products, technologies, equipment and on-site expertise.

Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing solutions, water treatment and process-management systems, food safety programs, infection prevention products, pest elimination services and solutions for industrial operations. Ecolab serves customers in industries including hospitality, healthcare, food and beverage production, life sciences, manufacturing, energy, retail and institutional services.

The company was founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory and adopted the Ecolab name in 1986.

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