ECOLAB INC.
In the published model solve dated 2026-Q2, anchored at $286.75, ECOLAB INC. (ECL) is priced for +22.7% growth. boothcheck publishes no house fair value, target price, or buy/sell rating; individual model outputs and user-controlled scenarios are analytical inputs, not Boothcheck targets. The narrative was composed July 25, 2026 from SEC EDGAR filings.
• Ecolab's economics look less like a chemicals maker than a route business: field representatives install the dishwashers, water systems and pest programs, then sell what runs through them, which is why 22% of revenue arrives as service and lease income rather than as product sold. • The price works out to roughly 32 times company-wide operating income, and the demand buried in that figure is duration rather than pace: profit has to keep compounding at the fastest rate the business can fund fro
Is ECL overvalued? See what's priced in →
1,637 institutional managers reported holding ECL in 13F filings for the quarter ended 2026-03-31. Together they hold about 74% of the company; the top 10 hold 33%. 126 opened new positions that quarter. Held by Vanguard Group, BlackRock, State Street, among others. On the short side, 3.7M shares were sold short as of the 2026-06-15 count, about 1% of shares outstanding (2 days of typical volume to cover).
Quarterly 13F filings arrive up to 45 days after quarter end, so the picture is never current (filed through 2026-05-29). Nothing here is investment advice.
ECL has cut its share count 1.4% over the past five years, spending $2.71B on repurchases. It pays a dividend, and has paid one every year in our records (18 and counting), raised 12 years straight; the current rate is $2.68 a share annually. Cash returned over the past three years: $1.94B in dividends and $2.15B in repurchases.
Share counts are split-adjusted; repurchase totals are gross of share issuance. Nothing here is investment advice.
Open-market insider buys at ECL over the trailing three years: 2023: 2 buys totaling $273k; 2024: 2 buys totaling $304k; 2025: 4 buys totaling $592k; 2026: 2 buys totaling $2.26M. 29 officers and directors are on file.
Code P open-market purchases from SEC Form 4 filings, non-derivative, excluding scheduled 10b5-1 plans. Nothing here is investment advice.
ECL's recent reports: the day-one move, then what the following quarter actually did.
| report | day one | next quarter |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-08-04 | +1.0% | -7.1% |
| 2023-11-03 | +5.1% | +11.7% |
| 2024-02-24 | +2.5% | -0.6% |
| 2024-05-03 | +1.5% | +4.7% |
Day-one is the close-to-close move around the filing. Nothing here is investment advice.
ECL's latest 8-K filings: 2026-07-28 (items 2.02, 9.01); 2026-05-29 (items 8.01, 9.01); 2026-05-11 (items 5.02, 5.07); 2026-04-28 (items 2.02, 9.01); 2026-04-15 (items 1.01, 2.03, 9.01).
Item codes are the SEC's own classification of what each report discloses. Dates link to the filing on EDGAR. Nothing here is investment advice.
Model solve date: 2026-Q2
Narrative composed: July 25, 2026
Each week boothcheck ranks the stocks whose prices are betting on the most. Read the most stretched bets archive →
boothcheck is also on Android. Get the app on Google Play →
For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.