Rathbones Group PLC Buys 15,392 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 304,964 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 15,392 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC owned approximately 0.11% of Ecolab worth $80,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,190,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,898,565,000 after acquiring an additional 527,902 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 195.9% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 670,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $183,699,000 after buying an additional 444,053 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 115.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 727,370 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $193,753,000 after buying an additional 389,981 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth approximately $97,664,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 64.5% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 878,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $240,676,000 after acquiring an additional 344,541 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on ECL shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ecolab from $310.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $312.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.56.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:ECL opened at $263.77 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $284.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.57. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $221.62 and a one year high of $309.27. The firm has a market cap of $74.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. Ecolab’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 40.11%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. This represents a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Profile

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.