Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lifted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Free Report) by 26.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,173,054 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 245,263 shares during the period. Ecolab comprises about 3.5% of Sustainable Growth Advisers LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $322,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,422,340,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth approximately $244,381,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth approximately $578,923,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at approximately $495,109,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at approximately $413,381,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.
Ecolab Stock Up 1.0%
NYSE:ECL opened at $290.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $279.59 and a 200 day moving average of $271.59. The firm has a market cap of $81.48 billion, a PE ratio of 36.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.87.
Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Ecolab Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.19%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
ECL has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ecolab from $342.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on Ecolab from $299.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings raised Ecolab from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Zacks Research raised Ecolab from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $324.50.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Ecolab
Insider Transactions at Ecolab
In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,431,170.48. This trade represents a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
About Ecolab
Ecolab Inc (NYSE:ECL) is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and related services. The company helps businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations through specialized products, technologies, equipment and on-site expertise.
Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing solutions, water treatment and process-management systems, food safety programs, infection prevention products, pest elimination services and solutions for industrial operations. Ecolab serves customers in industries including hospitality, healthcare, food and beverage production, life sciences, manufacturing, energy, retail and institutional services.
The company was founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory and adopted the Ecolab name in 1986.
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