Legal & General Group Plc Has $591.54 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,159,989 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,629 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.76% of Ecolab worth $591,535,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Corundum Trust Company INC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1,177.8% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 81.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $281.97 on Wednesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $286.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $274.54. The firm has a market cap of $79.51 billion, a PE ratio of 38.73, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $265.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho set a $335.00 target price on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.56.

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.