Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC dramatically increased its Ecolab stake by 8,088% in the fourth quarter, ending with 4,094 shares valued at about $1.08 million.
• Wall Street remains constructive on Ecolab, with analysts assigning a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $322.53; several firms recently reiterated or raised bullish targets.
• Ecolab reported Q1 earnings of $1.70 per share, matching expectations, while revenue of $4.07 billion topped estimates and rose 10% year over year; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share.

Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 8,088.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,094 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,044 shares during the quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 1,375.0% in the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 88.7% in the 3rd quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 117 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pekao Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $337.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Mizuho set a $335.00 target price on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $295.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $312.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $322.53.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,087,281.98. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $254.60 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $261.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $271.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $71.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.90.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Ecolab 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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