Capital Advisors Inc. OK Buys 4,293 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 163,023 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 4,293 shares during the quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $42,797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Corundum Trust Company INC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 1,177.8% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 1,375.0% during the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,907,351.78. This trade represents a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ECL. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group upped their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.56.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE:ECL opened at $265.74 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $285.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $273.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.97.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 12.91%.The company’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.11%.

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.