Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stock: Vontobel Holding Ltd. Boosts Holdings

Key Points

• Vontobel Holding increased its Ecolab stake by 4.2% in the third quarter to 648,883 shares valued at approximately $178.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 74.91% of Ecolab’s outstanding stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.50. Recent targets range from $310 to $337.
• Ecolab exceeded quarterly expectations with $2.09 in EPS and $4.42 billion in revenue, while revenue grew 9.7% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, equivalent to a 1.0% annualized yield.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 648,883 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,930 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned 0.23% of Ecolab worth $178,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Wellington Altus USA Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 64.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Union Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Polaris Financial Partners purchased a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho increased their target price on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Ecolab from $287.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Ecolab from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $324.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of Ecolab 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock traded down $2.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $288.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,400,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,217,603. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.91 billion, a PE ratio of 38.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.87. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $279.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.84.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given 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 payout ratio is 39.19%.

Ecolab Company 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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