Aristotle Capital Management LLC Has $986.55 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Aristotle Capital Management LLC cut its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,708,479 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 180,093 shares during the quarter. Ecolab accounts for about 2.1% of Aristotle Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Aristotle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $986,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,327,693 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,649,026,000 after acquiring an additional 137,578 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 63.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,788,497,000 after buying an additional 4,110,472 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Ecolab by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,883,084 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,069,468,000 after acquiring an additional 441,747 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 0.8% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,022,334,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michel D. Doukeris bought 7,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $258.00 per share, with a total value of $1,999,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,148,108. The trade was a 1,345.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $324.06.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $268.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $75.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.89. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $266.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly 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. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The company had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous 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, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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