NEOS Investment Management LLC Boosts Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 49.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 8,531 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $7,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Corundum Trust Company INC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1,177.8% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 81.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 93.6% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,933,816. The trade was a 3.37% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total value of $381,451.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,726 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,999.50. The trade was a 19.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Mizuho set a $335.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $265.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays raised their price target on Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.76.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE ECL opened at $302.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $85.71 billion, a PE ratio of 41.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.99. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $221.62 and a 1-year high of $306.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $276.75 and a 200-day moving average of $272.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 12.91%.The business had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 16th. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.11%.

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.