MV Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 15,240 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,001,000.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Ecolab from $330.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.41.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the sale, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Benjamin M. Clark acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $263.83 per share, for a total transaction of $263,830.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president 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 disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of ECL stock opened at $269.71 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $261.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.51%.

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.