Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC Makes New $727,000 Investment in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $727,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ECL. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,422,340,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,788,497,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110,472 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $1,022,334,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $880,506,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $495,109,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $290.01 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $277.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $273.71. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.15 and a 12 month high of $309.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.88.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ECL. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.56.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at $8,539,712.37. This trade represents a 23.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Benjamin M. Clark acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $263.83 per share, for a total transaction of $263,830.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president owned 1,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $285,727.89. The trade was a 1,204.82% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.