Flputnam Investment Management Co. Acquires 16,783 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 302.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,336 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,783 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $6,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ECL. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Ecolab by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,362 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,870,000 after acquiring an additional 6,238 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Ecolab by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 163,731 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $43,464,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $115,674,000. Cornerstone Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $16,698,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 21,488 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,641,000 after purchasing an additional 4,886 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $327.56.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.4%

ECL opened at $287.06 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 capitalization of $80.47 billion, a PE ratio of 38.53, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.88. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $278.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $273.80.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total value of $2,608,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. The trade was a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,431,170.48. This represents a 19.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Company 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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