53,649 Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL Bought by Capital International Inc. CA

Capital International Inc. CA purchased a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 53,649 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,084,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 1,375.0% in the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 88.7% during the third quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pekao Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ECL. UBS Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $325.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $312.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho set a $335.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.53.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE ECL opened at $258.60 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $261.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.34. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.15 and a 12 month high of $309.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.99, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.51%.

Ecolab 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.