Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Vest Financial LLC

Key Points

• Vest Financial cut its stake in Ecolab by 12.0% in Q4, selling 24,429 shares and leaving it with 179,818 shares (~$47.2M), while CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares (~$6.15M) in February, indicating notable insider and institutional selling.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally positive: MarketBeat's consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $322.82, though some firms raised targets to $345 and others trimmed theirs into the $285–$293 range.
• Ecolab reported Q1 EPS of $1.70 (in line) and revenue of $4.07B (beat), and provided FY 2026 guidance of 8.43–8.63 EPS and Q2 guidance of 2.02–2.12 EPS.

Vest Financial LLC decreased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 179,818 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 24,429 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.06% of Ecolab worth $47,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 211 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 975 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kampmann Melissa S. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Kampmann Melissa S. now owns 13,384 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,746,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $345.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a report on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Ecolab from $312.00 to $293.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $310.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $322.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. This represents a 18.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total value of $390,454.90. Following the sale, the director owned 11,358 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,505,760.28. This trade represents a 10.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL opened at $268.45 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $75.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $236.50 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $278.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $273.49.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 12.91%.The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is 40.11%.

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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