Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC Takes $9.45 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 33,923 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,451,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the third quarter worth about $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL opened at $281.91 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.15 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The firm has a market cap of $79.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.84, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $276.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $273.73.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.56.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,431,170.48. This trade represents a 19.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 28,866 shares of company stock worth $7,878,801 over the last ninety days. 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.