Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 11.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 982,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 104,485 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $261,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its position in Ecolab by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at $6,323,899.50. This represents a 4.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michel D. Doukeris acquired 7,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $258.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,500.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 8,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,148,108. This trade represents a 1,345.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ECL. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Zacks Research cut shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.06.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of ECL stock opened at $267.23 on Thursday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.15 and a 12 month high of $309.27. The stock has a market cap of $75.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $265.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.15.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.51%.

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.