Concentric Capital Strategies LP raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 34.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,461 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,659 shares during the quarter. Ecolab accounts for 0.8% of Concentric Capital Strategies LP's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Concentric Capital Strategies LP's holdings in Ecolab were worth $16,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $847,544,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,190,115 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,898,565,000 after buying an additional 527,902 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 115.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 727,370 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $193,753,000 after buying an additional 389,981 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 64.5% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 878,829 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $240,676,000 after buying an additional 344,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bornite Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at $68,465,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts have commented on ECL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $327.00 price target on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $265.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One equities research 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $323.56.
Get Our Latest Analysis on ECL
Ecolab Trading Down 0.6%
Ecolab stock opened at $274.12 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The firm's 50-day moving average is $287.11 and its 200-day moving average is $274.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $77.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.65, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.97.
Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.
Ecolab Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio is 40.11%.
Insider Activity at Ecolab
In related news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at $3,505,760.28. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total value of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at $27,907,351.78. This represents a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
About Ecolab
(
Free Report)
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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