Sanders Morris Harris LLC Acquires New Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Posted by Stanley Muller on Oct 14th, 2026

Sanders Morris Harris LLC bought a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 5,752 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,579,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 12.9% during the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 2,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Services increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Services now owns 1,152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 37,938 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,417,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,122 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL traded up $1.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $287.62. 1,098,559 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,438,176. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $279.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.87. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $342.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $324.50.

View Our Latest Research Report on Ecolab

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total value of $5,003,860.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.