Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its Ecolab stake by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 94,018 shares and ending with 3.53 million shares valued at about $926.5 million.
• Ecolab reported Q1 earnings of $1.70 per share, matching analyst expectations, while revenue rose 10% year over year to $4.07 billion and slightly topped estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share to be paid on July 15, and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” with a $323.41 target price.

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,529,099 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 94,018 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 1.25% of Ecolab worth $926,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas now owns 28,256 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,418,000 after buying an additional 4,970 shares during the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. L2 Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 71 West Capital Partners purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Finally, Okabena Investment Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 12,312 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,232,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $274.15 on Wednesday. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $243.15 and a one year high of $309.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business's fifty day moving average price is $261.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.16 billion, a PE ratio of 37.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total transaction of $2,608,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,539,712.37. This represents a 23.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. The trade was a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut Ecolab from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Ecolab from $330.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $323.41.

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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