UBS Group AG Sells 4,746 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• UBS Group AG trimmed its position in Ecolab by 0.3% in Q4, selling 4,746 shares and holding 1,440,776 shares (about 0.51% of the company) valued at roughly $378.23 million.
• Q4 results and guidance: Ecolab reported EPS of $2.08 (beating the $2.07 estimate) and revenue of $4.19B (slightly under the $4.20B estimate), and set FY2026 EPS guidance of $8.43–$8.63 versus analyst expectations around $8.45.
• Insider selling: CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares at about $307.37 (~$6.15M), reducing his stake by 18.05%, and Director Tracy B. McKibben sold 1,265 shares, with insiders owning roughly 0.50% of the company.

UBS Group AG reduced its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,440,776 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,746 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.51% of Ecolab worth $378,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 527,902 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Ecolab by 195.9% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 670,778 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $183,699,000 after purchasing an additional 444,053 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Ecolab by 594.6% in the fourth 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. 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 worth $193,753,000 after purchasing an additional 389,981 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter worth $97,664,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of ECL opened at $268.45 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $278.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $273.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.82 billion, a PE ratio of 36.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.02. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $236.50 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 12.91%.The company's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. 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 predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ecolab from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $322.82.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of Ecolab 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at $27,907,351.78. This trade represents a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total value of $390,454.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,358 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Company Profile

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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