Capital World Investors Takes $1.02 Billion Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 3,894,309 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,022,334,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 88.7% in the 3rd quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 1,375.0% in the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pekao Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE ECL opened at $258.60 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $261.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The company has a market capitalization of $72.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. The trade was a 4.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $325.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus 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.