United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 10,413 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,901,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ECL. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.56.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $287.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $80.47 billion, a PE ratio of 38.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $278.36 and a 200-day moving average of $273.80. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $243.15 and a one year high of $309.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results 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. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid 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 currently 39.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total value of $2,608,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at $8,539,712.37. The trade was a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Benjamin M. Clark acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $263.83 per share, for a total transaction of $263,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,727.89. This trade represents a 1,204.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.