Moore Capital Management LP Acquires New Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Moore Capital Management initiated a new position in Ecolab, buying 95,063 shares in Q3 valued at roughly $26.03 million.
• Multiple analysts have raised ratings and targets (e.g., Citi to $345, RBC to $337), leaving a MarketBeat consensus of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $323.71.
• Ecolab slightly beat quarterly EPS ($2.08 vs. $2.07), reported $4.20B in revenue, set FY2026 guidance of 8.430–8.630 EPS, and declared a $0.73 quarterly dividend (1.1% yield).

Moore Capital Management LP bought a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 95,063 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $26,034,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Corundum Trust Company INC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 1,177.8% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 81.5% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $327.00 price objective on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ecolab from $265.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup raised their price target on Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $326.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $323.71.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $273.29 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $287.31 and a 200 day moving average of $274.41. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $309.27. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $77.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.97.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is 40.11%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the company'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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.

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.