Groupe la Francaise Purchases 9,208 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

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Groupe la Francaise lifted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 88.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,596 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,208 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the third quarter worth $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 target price on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $327.56.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total transaction of $2,608,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,539,712.37. This trade represents a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $277.83 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $269.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.29, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.89.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. Analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.

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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