Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) - Analysts at Seaport Res Ptn increased their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for Ecolab in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 30th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now anticipates that the basic materials company will post earnings of $2.08 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $2.07. Seaport Res Ptn has a "Strong-Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Ecolab's current full-year earnings is $7.54 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Ecolab's Q1 2026 earnings at $1.83 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.18 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.31 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.29 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.62 EPS.
Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The company's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS.
Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $282.47.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Ecolab
Ecolab Trading Up 1.0 %
NYSE ECL traded up $2.52 on Friday, hitting $255.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,099,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,157,681. The firm has a market cap of $72.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.57, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $220.96 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $248.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $247.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.
Ecolab Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.33%.
Insider Transactions at Ecolab
In other news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 9.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 796,170 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $203,285,000 after acquiring an additional 69,142 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 276.3% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,886 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,290,000 after purchasing an additional 9,462 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 797.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,550,000 after purchasing an additional 15,834 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 56,276 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,368,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,947,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.
About Ecolab
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Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.
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