Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Buys 830,726 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 58.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,243,825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 830,726 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned about 0.80% of Ecolab worth $596,902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. The trade was a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total transaction of $2,608,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at $8,539,712.37. This represents a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders bought a total of 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.3%

Ecolab stock opened at $263.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $266.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $273.16. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm 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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.06.

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.