Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Raises Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 135.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,086 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,598 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $15,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $867,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 39.8% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in Ecolab by 22.9% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,684,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Ecolab by 49.4% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 58,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,741,000 after buying an additional 19,324 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired a total of 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508 in the last ninety days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $283.17 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.15 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The stock has a market cap of $79.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $262.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $272.17.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 39.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $293.00 to $325.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.71.

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.