Fifth Third Bancorp Buys 63,265 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 37.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 234,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 63,265 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $62,354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Osprey Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC now owns 33,242 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,843,000 after purchasing an additional 2,697 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 29.3% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,345 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,342 shares during the last quarter. AlpenGlobal Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at about $3,559,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 5.6% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 997,987 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $265,210,000 after buying an additional 53,123 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $274.60 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The company has a market cap of $77.28 billion, a PE ratio of 37.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a 50-day moving average of $263.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $272.85.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. Ecolab’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. 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, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,651 shares in the company, 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 link. Also, Director Michel D. Doukeris purchased 7,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $258.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,500.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 8,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,148,108. This trade represents a 1,345.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders purchased 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $324.29.

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.