Caxton Associates LLP Makes New $958,000 Investment in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,601 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $958,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $268.73 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.89. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $266.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.19.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $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. Equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Zacks Research cut shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $293.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.06.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,087,281.98. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michel D. Doukeris bought 7,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $258.00 per share, with a total value of $1,999,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,148,108. The trade was a 1,345.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.