Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $287.22 Million Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,048,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 114,627 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.37% of Ecolab worth $287,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Group Ltd boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 4.9% in the third quarter. Wealth Group Ltd now owns 853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.3% in the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.4% in the third quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 4.7% in the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,625 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,246,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab 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 transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. This trade represents a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on ECL. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $312.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.56.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $274.12 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $287.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $274.46. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $221.62 and a one year high of $309.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.65, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.97.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its 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. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The business had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.11%.

Ecolab Company 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.