Tidal Investments LLC Acquires 5,014 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Tidal Investments increased its Ecolab stake by 13.8% in the second quarter, adding 5,014 shares to reach 41,300 shares valued at approximately $11.5 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 74.91% of Ecolab.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with Ecolab receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $327.56. Recent firms raised targets as high as $360.
• Ecolab slightly exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $2.09 EPS and $4.42 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 9.7% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, yielding about 1.1%.

Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,300 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,014 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $11,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $337.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price target on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $327.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

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

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $276.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $278.37 and a 200-day moving average of $272.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.09, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.88. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company posted $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.19%.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc NYSE: ECL provides water, hygiene, infection prevention and technology solutions to businesses and institutions worldwide. Its customers include restaurants, hotels, hospitals, manufacturers, food and beverage companies, retailers and other organizations that rely on safe, efficient and sustainable operating environments.

The company's offerings include cleaning and sanitizing products, water-treatment and process-management systems, food-safety programs, infection-prevention solutions and pest-elimination services.

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