Legal & General Group Plc Has $546.68 Million Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its Ecolab stake by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, but still held 2,082,424 shares valued at about $546.7 million.
• Ecolab posted Q1 results in line with expectations, reporting EPS of $1.70 on revenue of $4.07 billion, with revenue up 10% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, payable July 15, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $320.65.

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,082,424 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 77,565 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.74% of Ecolab worth $546,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Glenview Trust Co increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 107,868 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $28,318,000 after purchasing an additional 29,959 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 79,933 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $20,984,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,270 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,383,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Pathfinder Wealth Consulting Inc. bought a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $226,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 25,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total value of $390,454.90. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,358 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,505,760.28. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ECL. Weiss Ratings cut Ecolab from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $325.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $312.00 to $293.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $337.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $320.65.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $253.33 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $71.30 billion, a PE ratio of 34.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $243.15 and a one year high of $309.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $262.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $271.44.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 39.51%.

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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