Holocene Advisors LP Makes New Investment in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Holocene Advisors LP established a new stake of 356,621 shares in Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) in Q3 worth about $97.66 million, while institutional investors collectively own roughly 74.91% of the stock.
• Analysts carry an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $323.56; Ecolab slightly beat quarterly EPS ( $2.08 vs. $2.07) and provided FY2026 guidance of 8.430–8.630 EPS (Q1 guidance 1.670–1.730).
• Insiders have been trimming positions: CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares (~$6.15M) and a director sold 1,265 shares, leaving total insider ownership at about 0.50%.

Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 356,621 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $97,664,000. Holocene Advisors LP owned about 0.13% of Ecolab at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Group Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Group Ltd now owns 853 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 4.3% during the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 975 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 3.4% during the third quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 4.7% during the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 0.9% in the second quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,625 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,246,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ECL. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $345.00 price objective (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $312.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $327.00 price target on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $323.56.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $274.12 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $77.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.65, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $309.27. The stock's 50 day moving average is $287.11 and its 200-day moving average is $274.46.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 value of $390,454.90. Following the completion of the sale, 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. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ECL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.