Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,650,916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 131,915 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.94% of Ecolab worth $725,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 5.0% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,787 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Ecolab by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,995 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,310,000 after buying an additional 1,304 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Ecolab by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,415,887 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $387,748,000 after buying an additional 11,661 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 757,547 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $207,462,000 after acquiring an additional 6,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 277,289 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $75,938,000 after acquiring an additional 28,578 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on ECL. Mizuho set a $335.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ecolab from $265.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.56.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL opened at $276.97 on Thursday. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The firm has a market cap of $78.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.05, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $286.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $274.55.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at $3,505,760.28. This trade represents a 10.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total value of $6,147,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at $27,907,351.78. This represents a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.