Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Posted by Stanley Muller on Aug 9th, 2026

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Free Report) by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,841 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 4,497 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $7,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its stake in Ecolab by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 330,698 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $86,670,000 after buying an additional 68,062 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Ecolab by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,870,000 after buying an additional 6,238 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 163,731 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,464,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 21,488 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,641,000 after acquiring an additional 4,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 251,977 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,149,000 after acquiring an additional 20,247 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total transaction of $2,608,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. The trade was a 23.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 9,750 shares of company stock worth $2,513,980. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on ECL shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.56.

Read Our Latest Research Report on ECL

Ecolab Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of ECL opened at $284.86 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.15 and a 52-week high of $309.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $272.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.76. The company has a market capitalization of $80.17 billion, a PE ratio of 38.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.88.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Ecolab Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.