Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

by · The Markets Daily

Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Free Report) by 185.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,309 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,450 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 4.6% in the third quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,095 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,988 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $820,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 59,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,300,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Polaris Financial Partners acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, CX Institutional grew its holdings in Ecolab by 8.7% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,252 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock traded down $3.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $277.72. The stock had a trading volume of 1,146,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,449,411. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The firm has a market cap of $77.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.28, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.87. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $279.15 and its 200-day moving average is $270.64.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%.Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 39.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer upgraded 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $342.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.67.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on ECL

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Ecolab

(Free Report)

Ecolab Inc (NYSE:ECL) is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and related services. The company helps businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations through specialized products, technologies, equipment and on-site expertise.

Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing solutions, water treatment and process-management systems, food safety programs, infection prevention products, pest elimination services and solutions for industrial operations. Ecolab serves customers in industries including hospitality, healthcare, food and beverage production, life sciences, manufacturing, energy, retail and institutional services.

The company was founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory and adopted the Ecolab name in 1986.

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