Aristotle Capital Management LLC Sells 193,433 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Aristotle Capital trimmed its Ecolab stake by 4.5%, selling 193,433 shares and leaving it with 4,071,409 shares (~1.44% of the company) valued at $1.115 billion, making Ecolab its 12th-largest holding.
• Analysts have lifted price targets and ratings recently, leaving Ecolab with a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $323.56 (notable raises include Jefferies to $352 and Citi to $345).
• Corporate insiders sold shares (CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares for about $6.15M), Ecolab announced a quarterly dividend of $0.73 (1.1% yield, ex-dividend March 17), and issued FY2026 EPS guidance of 8.430–8.630.

Aristotle Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,071,409 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 193,433 shares during the period. Ecolab makes up 2.2% of Aristotle Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Aristotle Capital Management LLC owned about 1.44% of Ecolab worth $1,115,022,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 39.8% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 22.9% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 559.5% in the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 13,783 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,714,000 after buying an additional 11,693 shares during the period. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 595,617 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $160,483,000 after buying an additional 10,697 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $327.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $312.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $323.56.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $274.12 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The stock's 50 day moving average is $287.11 and its 200-day moving average is $274.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.65, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.97.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The business had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. Ecolab's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 40.11%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total value of $6,147,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at $27,907,351.78. This represents a 18.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were 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. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

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.

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