Lbp Am Sa boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 23.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,461 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 19,064 shares during the period. Lbp Am Sa's holdings in Ecolab were worth $26,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 527,902 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 444,053 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 115.6% during the 2nd 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. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $97,664,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $240,676,000 after purchasing an additional 344,541 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
ECL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $312.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $321.44.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on ECL
Ecolab Price Performance
NYSE ECL opened at $270.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $282.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $273.74. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $229.39 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The company has a market cap of $76.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.14, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.02.
Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 12.91%.The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.
Ecolab Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.11%.
Insider Activity
In other Ecolab news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,358 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. This trade represents a 10.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total value of $6,147,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at $27,907,351.78. This represents a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
About Ecolab
(
Free Report)
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.
Featured Articles
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.
Before you consider Ecolab, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Ecolab wasn't on the list.
While Ecolab currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Nuclear energy is entering a new growth cycle as rising power demand, expanding data centers, and renewed policy support bring the sector back into focus. After strong gains in recent years, the most impactful phase of nuclear investment may still be ahead.
This report highlights seven nuclear energy stocks positioned across the value chain—combining near-term revenue with long-term upside as next-generation technologies scale. Click the link below to unlock the full list.
Get This Free Report
