Renaissance Technologies LLC Takes $83.37 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 313,397 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,370,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 63.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,788,497,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110,472 shares during the period. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $1,022,334,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $880,506,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 26,152.0% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 945,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,810,000 after buying an additional 941,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 58.8% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,243,825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $596,902,000 after buying an additional 830,726 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $268.73 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $266.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $273.12. The company has a market cap of $75.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.36, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.89.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 39.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $293.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Benjamin M. Clark acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $263.83 per share, with a total value of $263,830.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $285,727.89. This represents a 1,204.82% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders bought 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.