Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 21.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,415 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,190,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,898,565,000 after purchasing an additional 527,902 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Ecolab by 195.9% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 670,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $183,699,000 after purchasing an additional 444,053 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 115.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 727,370 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $193,753,000 after purchasing an additional 389,981 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at about $97,664,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 64.5% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 878,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $240,676,000 after purchasing an additional 344,541 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total value 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. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at $3,505,760.28. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.4%

ECL stock opened at $262.31 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $221.62 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $285.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.64. The company has a market capitalization of $74.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.03, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.97.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

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.