Whittier Trust Co. Acquires 5,191 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Whittier Trust Co. increased its Ecolab stake by 5.8% in the first quarter, buying 5,191 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 94,113 shares worth about $25.1 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Ecolab remains positive, with analysts giving it a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $323.71 after several firms raised targets or upgraded ratings.
• Ecolab reported solid quarterly results, matching EPS expectations at $1.70 and topping revenue forecasts at $4.07 billion, while also reaffirming full-year guidance and announcing a $0.73 quarterly dividend.

Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 94,113 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 5,191 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $25,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,327,693 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,649,026,000 after acquiring an additional 137,578 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,788,497,000 after acquiring an additional 4,110,472 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,883,084 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,069,468,000 after purchasing an additional 441,747 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,635,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,472,599,000 after purchasing an additional 46,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,022,334,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ECL. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $326.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. UBS Group raised shares of Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Ecolab from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $323.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 1,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $283.17 on Monday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $262.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $272.33. The company has a market cap of $79.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.32, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

About Ecolab

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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