Capital Research Global Investors Has $387.75 Million Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,415,887 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 11,661 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors’ holdings in Ecolab were worth $387,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% during the fourth 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 during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 39.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 22.9% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 559.5% in the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 13,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,714,000 after purchasing an additional 11,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT boosted its position in Ecolab by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 870 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $281.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $79.51 billion, a PE ratio of 38.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.97. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $221.62 and a one year high of $309.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $286.33 and a 200-day moving average of $274.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The company had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 40.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total value of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total value of $390,454.90. Following the sale, the director owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho set a $335.00 price objective on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.56.

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.