Global Retirement Partners LLC Increases Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,663 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,160 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Burling Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Burling Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $992,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $701,000. ABN Amro Investment Solutions increased its holdings in Ecolab by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 92,809 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,364,000 after acquiring an additional 9,430 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 304,964 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $80,059,000 after acquiring an additional 15,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,138,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,323,899.50. The trade was a 4.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $253.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $71.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.28, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $263.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.38. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 1.2%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho set a $335.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $312.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.65.

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.