Capital International Ltd. CA Makes New $16.37 Million Investment in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Capital International Ltd. CA bought a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 62,366 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $16,372,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 211 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 764 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 730 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $192,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the 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 purchase, the director directly owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. The trade was a 4.13% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $325.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $330.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $295.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $325.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $322.53.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of ECL stock opened at $258.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $261.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $271.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.99, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

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