OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC Invests $1.60 Million in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,741 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,600,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ECL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Ecolab by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,788,497,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110,472 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $1,022,334,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $880,506,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $413,381,000. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in Ecolab by 26,152.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 945,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,810,000 after buying an additional 941,472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director Michel D. Doukeris bought 7,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $258.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,148,108. This trade represents a 1,345.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 value of $266,039.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.1%

Ecolab stock opened at $275.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $77.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.03, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.88. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.15 and a 52-week high of $309.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $275.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $273.67.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given 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 39.19%.

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.