Allstate Corp Increases Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Allstate Corp more than doubled its Ecolab stake in Q4, buying 10,183 additional shares and ending with 19,547 shares worth about $5.13 million.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their positions, and 74.91% of Ecolab’s stock is now held by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Ecolab posted solid quarterly results with $1.70 EPS on $4.07 billion in revenue, and it declared a $0.73 quarterly dividend payable July 15.

Allstate Corp increased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 108.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,547 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 10,183 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp's holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 330,698 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $86,670,000 after purchasing an additional 68,062 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,362 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,870,000 after purchasing an additional 6,238 shares during the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 19.9% in the third quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 83,379 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $22,834,000 after purchasing an additional 13,840 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 7.7% in the third quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 48,231 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $13,240,000 after purchasing an additional 3,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 20.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 66,656 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $18,254,000 after purchasing an additional 11,322 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $330.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. 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 research report on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $295.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $320.65.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.3%

ECL opened at $254.08 on Wednesday. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.15 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $262.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $271.41. The company has a market cap of $71.51 billion, a PE ratio of 34.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.92.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) 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 firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is 39.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Ecolab

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.

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