NBT Bank N.A. Buys New Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• NBT Bank initiated a position in Ecolab during the third quarter, purchasing 7,677 shares valued at approximately $2.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of Ecolab’s outstanding shares.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.50; several firms recently raised their targets or upgraded the stock.
• Ecolab reported quarterly earnings of $2.09 per share and revenue of $4.42 billion, both slightly above estimates, while revenue rose 9.7% year over year. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, yielding about 1.0% annually.

NBT Bank N.A. bought a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,677 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,108,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,422,340,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $244,381,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $578,923,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $495,109,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $413,381,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total value of $5,003,860.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $299.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $324.50.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE:ECL opened at $292.32 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The firm has a market cap of $81.95 billion, a PE ratio of 39.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.87. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $280.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $272.41.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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