Auto Owners Insurance Co Has $24.81 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 26,152.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 945,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 941,472 shares during the quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $24,810,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,870,000 after purchasing an additional 6,238 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 330,698 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $86,670,000 after buying an additional 68,062 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 48,231 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,240,000 after buying an additional 3,464 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 163,731 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,464,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 100,542 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,394,000 after acquiring an additional 12,890 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.41.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $269.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $75.91 billion, a PE ratio of 36.50, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average is $261.40 and its 200 day moving average is $271.16. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total value of $2,608,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. The trade was a 23.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michel D. Doukeris acquired 7,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $258.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,500.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 8,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,148,108. This represents a 1,345.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508 over the last quarter. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.