American Century Companies Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,378,085 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,665 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $377,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Corundum Trust Company INC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 lifted its holdings 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 93.6% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL opened at $308.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.32, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $282.85 and a 200 day moving average of $274.21. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results 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. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 12.91%.The company had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 40.11%.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,933,816. The trade was a 3.37% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $265.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho set a $335.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.56.

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.