Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group raised its stake in Ecolab by 2.4% to 339,843 shares (worth about $89.22M), and institutional investors now own 74.91% of the stock.
• Insider activity shows Director David Maclennan bought 800 shares at $256.91 while CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares at $307.37, reducing his position by 18.05%.
• Ecolab reported Q1 EPS of $1.70 (in line with estimates) and revenue of $4.07B (+10% YoY), set FY2026 guidance of $8.43–$8.63 EPS, and pays a $0.73 quarterly dividend (≈1.1% yield).

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 339,843 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,939 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Ecolab worth $89,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,190,115 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,898,565,000 after acquiring an additional 527,902 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 195.9% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 670,778 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $183,699,000 after acquiring an additional 444,053 shares in the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $113,287,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 594.6% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 493,525 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $129,560,000 after acquiring an additional 422,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 115.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 727,370 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $193,753,000 after buying an additional 389,981 shares during the last quarter. 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 David Maclennan acquired 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $256.91 per share, with a total value of $205,528.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 24,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,224,929.30. This trade represents a 3.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $263.76 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.04 and a 52-week high of $309.27. The business's 50-day moving average price is $273.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $273.12. The firm has a market cap of $74.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. The business's revenue 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on ECL shares. BNP Paribas Exane reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $345.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Ecolab from $330.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Erste Group Bank lowered Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $325.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $295.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $322.53.

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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