Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 19,985 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL reduced its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 31.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 44,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 19,985 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $11,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,327,693 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,649,026,000 after buying an additional 137,578 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 63.1% during 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 boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,883,084 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,069,468,000 after acquiring an additional 441,747 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,635,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,472,599,000 after acquiring an additional 46,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $1,022,334,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ECL. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $324.06.

Ecolab Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of ECL stock opened at $268.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $75.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.36, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $266.62 and a 200-day moving average of $273.12. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $263.83 per share, with a total value of $263,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $285,727.89. This trade represents a 1,204.82% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.