Gotham Asset Management LLC Has $32.35 Million Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Gotham Asset Management boosted its stake in Ecolab by 24.5% to 118,136 shares worth $32.35 million, and institutional investors now own about 74.91% of the company with large increases from funds like Vanguard, Norges Bank, Balyasny, AQR and Robeco.
• Insider selling accelerated recently: Director Tracy B. McKibben sold 1,265 shares and CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares (an 18.05% reduction in his holdings), while insiders overall own only about 0.5% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is positive with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target of $323.71, as Ecolab reported a slight EPS beat ($2.08 vs. $2.07), issued FY2026 guidance of $8.43–$8.63, and declared a $0.73 quarterly dividend (1.1% yield).

Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 24.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118,136 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,235 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $32,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $847,544,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Ecolab by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,190,115 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,898,565,000 after buying an additional 527,902 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 195.9% in the 3rd 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. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 115.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 727,370 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $193,753,000 after acquiring an additional 389,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Ecolab by 64.5% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 878,829 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $240,676,000 after acquiring an additional 344,541 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the company'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 value of $390,454.90. Following the sale, the director owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at $3,505,760.28. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the firm'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 value of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $312.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $265.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $326.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $323.71.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $273.29 on Tuesday. 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $287.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $274.41. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $221.62 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The company has a market cap of $77.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.54, a PEG ratio of 2.25 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm 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. On average, research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.11%.

Ecolab Company 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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