Capital International Investors Raises Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Capital International Investors lifted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 762,319 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 4,772 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned approximately 0.27% of Ecolab worth $200,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 164.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 39.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,684,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Ecolab by 49.4% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 58,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,741,000 after purchasing an additional 19,324 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 1,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased 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 in the company, valued at $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of ECL stock opened at $257.41 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $72.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.83, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $261.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.35. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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, equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $325.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.53.

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.