Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stock Purchased by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Ecolab stake by 948.7% in the third quarter, adding 103,601 shares for a total holding of 114,521 shares valued at approximately $31.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 74.91% of Ecolab.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook, with Ecolab receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $324.50, above its reported opening price of $288.63.
• Ecolab exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $2.09 in EPS and $4.42 billion in revenue, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, equivalent to a 1.0% annual yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 948.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 114,521 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 103,601 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $31,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $115,674,000. Cornerstone Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $16,698,000. Saudi Central Bank lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 89.1% during the second quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 17,793 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,957,000 after acquiring an additional 8,384 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at $31,932,000. Finally, Moore Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,298,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. This represents a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $342.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ecolab from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Zacks Research raised Ecolab from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on Ecolab from $299.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $324.50.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $288.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $80.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.74, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.87. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $279.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $271.71.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. Analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and cleaning solutions for businesses and institutions. The company helps customers manage water and energy use, maintain sanitary operations, protect food supplies and comply with health and safety standards.

Ecolab serves customers across industries including food and beverage processing, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, institutional facilities and energy. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, water-treatment and process-management systems, pest-control services, kitchen and housekeeping products, infection-prevention programs, and related equipment, training and consulting services.

Founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, the company has expanded from its original focus on cleaning products into a broad range of technology-enabled services and solutions.

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