King Luther Capital Management Corp Increases Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management increased its Ecolab stake by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, adding 6,341 shares to bring its total to 933,077 shares worth about $244.95 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with 74.91% of Ecolab shares held by hedge funds and other institutional investors, and several firms recently raised their positions.
• Ecolab’s latest results were solid: Q1 earnings matched expectations at $1.70 per share, revenue beat estimates at $4.07 billion, and the company reaffirmed upbeat guidance while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share.

King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 933,077 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,341 shares during the quarter. Ecolab accounts for 1.0% of King Luther Capital Management Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned 0.33% of Ecolab worth $244,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $6,898,565,000 after buying an additional 527,902 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 195.9% during 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 during the period. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $113,287,000. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Ecolab by 594.6% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 493,525 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $129,560,000 after purchasing an additional 422,471 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 389,981 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho set a $335.00 price objective on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $325.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $322.53.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of ECL opened at $254.08 on Wednesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $262.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.38, a PEG ratio of 2.10 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. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. Ecolab's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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