Grandfield & Dodd LLC Takes Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Grandfield & Dodd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 28,739 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $8,007,000.

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Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth about $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $327.56.

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Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Ecolab

Ecolab Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $275.87 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The company has a market cap of $77.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.03, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.88. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $275.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.67.

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Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.38 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total value of $2,608,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. This represents a 23.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Company Profile

(Free Report)

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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