Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stock Acquired by Norris Perne & French LLP MI

Key Points

• Norris Perne & French LLP MI increased its Ecolab stake by 186.1% in the third quarter, acquiring 63,845 additional shares for a total holding of 98,158 shares valued at approximately $27.0 million.
• Ecolab’s analyst outlook remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $324.50. Recent results slightly exceeded expectations, with quarterly EPS of $2.09 and revenue of $4.42 billion, up 9.7% year over year.
• CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares worth about $5.0 million, reducing his holdings by 19.67%; corporate insiders own just 0.50% of the company, while institutional investors hold 74.91%.

Norris Perne & French LLP MI boosted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 186.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 98,158 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 63,845 shares during the quarter. Ecolab comprises 1.2% of Norris Perne & French LLP MI's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Norris Perne & French LLP MI's holdings in Ecolab were worth $26,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wellington Altus USA Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab by 64.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Polaris Financial Partners purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. This represents a 19.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Mizuho upped their price target on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. 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 raised shares of Ecolab from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 7th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $287.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $324.50.

Ecolab Stock Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $80.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.87. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $280.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $272.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%. Ecolab's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Ecolab Profile

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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