Janus Henderson Group PLC Has $452.54 Million Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,701,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 109,877 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 0.60% of Ecolab worth $452,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America increased their target price 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, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $263.83 per share, for a total transaction of $263,830.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at $285,727.89. The trade was a 1,204.82% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders have purchased 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508 over the last quarter. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE ECL opened at $279.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.15 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The company has a market cap of $78.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s fifty day moving average is $269.10 and its 200 day moving average is $273.43.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

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.