Triton Financial Group Inc Buys Shares of 6,374 Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Triton Financial Group Inc bought a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,374 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,776,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 486 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 209 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 target price on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.56.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $286.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $80.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $278.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.70. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $309.27.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was 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 directly owned 32,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. This trade represents a 23.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. This trade represents a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.