Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd Acquires New Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd bought a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 7,278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,936,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,327,693 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,649,026,000 after buying an additional 137,578 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,788,497,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110,472 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,883,084 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,069,468,000 after purchasing an additional 441,747 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,635,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,472,599,000 after purchasing an additional 46,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $1,022,334,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was 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 $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michel D. Doukeris purchased 7,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $258.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,148,108. This trade represents a 1,345.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired a total of 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508 in the last ninety days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.71.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $278.50 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $261.94 and its 200-day moving average is $271.91. The company has a market cap of $78.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.69, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.99. 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 business had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

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.