Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 137,578 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its stake in Ecolab by 137,578 shares in Q4 to 25,327,693 shares, representing about 8.94% ownership valued at roughly $6.65 billion.
• Ecolab reported Q4 EPS of $2.08 (slightly above estimates) and set FY2026 guidance of $8.43–$8.63 EPS (consensus ~8.45), with revenue up 4.8% year-over-year and a quarterly dividend of $0.73 ($2.92 annual, 1.1% yield).
• The stock carries a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $322.82, institutional ownership near 74.9%, and recent insider selling including the CEO offloading 20,000 shares.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,327,693 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 137,578 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 8.94% of Ecolab worth $6,649,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,159,989 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $591,535,000 after acquiring an additional 63,629 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,718,633 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $453,857,000 after buying an additional 65,836 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Ecolab by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,415,887 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $387,748,000 after buying an additional 11,661 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,276,330 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $349,536,000 after buying an additional 30,144 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,159,965 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $313,590,000 after acquiring an additional 33,700 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $312.00 to $293.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho set a $335.00 target price on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $322.82.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $269.92 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $235.93 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The stock has a market cap of $76.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.02. The business's 50 day moving average price is $278.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $273.52. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%.Ecolab's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 40.11%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at $3,505,760.28. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total value of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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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