Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Schroder Investment Management Group

Key Points

• Schroder Investment Management trimmed its Ecolab stake by 10.8% in Q3, selling 112,892 shares and now holds 933,416 shares (~0.33%) valued at about $255.6 million.
• Insider sales: CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares at an average price of $307.37 (≈$6.15M) and director Tracy B. McKibben sold 1,265 shares, leaving insiders with just 0.04% ownership.
• Company outlook: Ecolab marginally beat quarterly EPS expectations, set FY2026 guidance of $8.430–$8.630, declared a $0.73 quarterly dividend (1.0% yield), and carries a "Moderate Buy" analyst consensus with an average price target of $323.56.

Schroder Investment Management Group trimmed its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 10.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 933,416 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 112,892 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned approximately 0.33% of Ecolab worth $255,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 64.5% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 878,829 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $240,676,000 after buying an additional 344,541 shares during the period. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. grew its stake in Ecolab by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 72,200 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $19,773,000 after acquiring an additional 14,800 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 66,656 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $18,254,000 after acquiring an additional 11,322 shares during the last quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 162.4% during the 3rd quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 5,364 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 3,320 shares during the period. Finally, ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 83,379 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $22,834,000 after purchasing an additional 13,840 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $282.91 on Monday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $285.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $274.56. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.97.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 12.91%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 40.11%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $327.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned 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 price target of $323.56.

About Ecolab

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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