Cetera Trust Company N.A Makes New Investment in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,942 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,098,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,870,000 after buying an additional 6,238 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 163,731 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,464,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth $115,674,000. Cornerstone Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $16,698,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 21,488 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,641,000 after purchasing an additional 4,886 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Monday, August 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.56.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $287.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $276.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.15 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The company has a market capitalization of $80.46 billion, a PE ratio of 38.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.88.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 39.19%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Benjamin M. Clark purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $263.83 per share, with a total value of $263,830.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at $285,727.89. The trade was a 1,204.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,866 shares of company stock valued at $7,878,801. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.