Capstone Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,998 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark acquired 1,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $263.83 per share, for a total transaction of $263,830.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $285,727.89. This represents a 1,204.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $287.06 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $278.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $273.80. The company has a market capitalization of $80.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.88. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released 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 return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%.The business had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Monday, August 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.56.

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.