Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stock Sold by Congress Asset Management Co.

Key Points

• Congress Asset Management reduced its Ecolab stake by 4.4% in the third quarter, selling 20,241 shares and retaining 434,723 shares valued at approximately $119.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of Ecolab.
• Ecolab shares traded at $280.84, with the company reporting quarterly earnings of $2.09 per share and revenue of $4.42 billion, both slightly ahead of analyst expectations. Revenue increased 9.7% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.67. Ecolab also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, representing a 1.0% yield.

Congress Asset Management Co. cut its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 434,723 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 20,241 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned approximately 0.16% of Ecolab worth $119,366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 7.6% in the third quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,988 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $820,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 59,362 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $16,300,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Polaris Financial Partners acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. CX Institutional boosted its position in Ecolab by 8.7% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,252 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in Ecolab by 1.7% in the third quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 23,362 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,415,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $3.77 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $280.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,181,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,450,836. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $279.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $270.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.87. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be 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 is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 target price on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Ecolab from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $327.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the transaction, 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

About Ecolab

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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