Prospera Financial Services Inc Sells 1,721 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Prospera Financial Services Inc trimmed its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,209 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,721 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 64.5% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 878,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $240,676,000 after buying an additional 344,541 shares during the last quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 25.8% in the third quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 72,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $19,773,000 after acquiring an additional 14,800 shares during the period. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 162.4% in the 3rd quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 5,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 3,320 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 66,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,254,000 after purchasing an additional 11,322 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 597,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $163,744,000 after purchasing an additional 9,837 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Ecolab

Here are the key news stories impacting Ecolab this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results: Ecolab posted a slight EPS beat and provided FY‑2026 guidance (8.43–8.63 EPS), which supports forward earnings visibility. Q4 2025 earnings call transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades: BNP Paribas Exane moved ECL to a “strong‑buy” (and earlier reaffirmed an outperform with a higher price target), adding buy‑side momentum around the name. Zacks – BNP Paribas upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Additional broker support: Evercore ISI issued a buy rating, and other analysts have raised targets (analyst commentary suggests fair values in the low‑to‑mid $300s), reinforcing upside narratives. Evercore ISI buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst fair‑value discussion: Coverage noted an average analyst view around US$317 post‑results, which frames where market participants expect ECL to trade over the medium term. Yahoo Finance – $317 analyst view
• Neutral Sentiment: Style/quant coverage: Zacks highlighted Ecolab as a top‑ranked growth/style pick, which may attract style‑focused funds but has limited immediate price impact. Zacks – Top‑ranked growth stock
• Negative Sentiment: Concerns on organic growth: Some analysts/commentary argue Ecolab’s organic growth wasn’t strong enough to fully justify upgrades, raising questions about the sustainability of the recent run. Seeking Alpha – organic growth critique

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore upgraded Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $265.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $327.00 price target on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $322.06.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $298.90 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $274.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $271.55. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $306.52. The firm has a market cap of $84.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly 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. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 12.91%.The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 40.11%.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,933,816. This represents a 3.37% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total transaction of $381,451.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,999.50. This represents a 19.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.04% 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.