Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Bought by Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA

Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA grew its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 193.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,942 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,918 shares during the quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,190,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,898,565,000 after purchasing an additional 527,902 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake 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 worth $183,699,000 after buying an additional 444,053 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 115.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 727,370 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $193,753,000 after buying an additional 389,981 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at $97,664,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 64.5% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 878,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $240,676,000 after acquiring an additional 344,541 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Ecolab from $310.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $312.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.56.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $269.53 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.02, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.02. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $284.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS 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 company had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter 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. 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.11%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $27,907,351.78. This trade represents a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.