Auto Owners Insurance Co Purchases 941,472 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 26,152.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 945,072 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 941,472 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co owned about 0.34% of Ecolab worth $24,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 63.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,788,497,000 after acquiring an additional 4,110,472 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $1,022,334,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $880,506,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,591,274 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $417,747,000 after buying an additional 813,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Ecolab by 65.2% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,413,099 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $370,967,000 after acquiring an additional 557,555 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $269.71 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.15 and a 52-week high of $309.27. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $261.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.16. 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 firm has a market cap of $75.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.90.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. 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. Equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th 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, June 16th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 39.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ecolab from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group raised Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $295.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $323.41.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $263.83 per share, for a total transaction of $263,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $285,727.89. The trade was a 1,204.82% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought a total of 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.50% 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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