Madison Asset Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 69,767 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,438,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $263.83 per share, with a total value of $263,830.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at $285,727.89. This trade represents a 1,204.82% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total transaction of $2,608,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,539,712.37. This represents a 23.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ECL. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research downgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.56.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $285.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.29, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50 day moving average is $275.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.68. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Ecolab Company 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.