The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 9,859 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Posted by George Bondi on Jul 31st, 2026

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Free Report) by 6.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 136,762 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 9,859 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $36,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.56.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on ECL

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. The trade was a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at $8,539,712.37. This represents a 23.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of ECL stock opened at $279.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $78.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.50, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.89. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $269.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $273.43.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

Ecolab 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.