Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 16,063 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 94,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 16,063 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $24,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC now owns 6,070 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 97,941 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,711,000 after acquiring an additional 1,777 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 98,443 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,889 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,121 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,927 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,706,000 after purchasing an additional 3,344 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,505,760.28. This trade represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 90,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. This represents a 18.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL opened at $263.77 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $309.27. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $284.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $273.45. The company has a market capitalization of $74.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.23, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.02.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 12.91%.The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 40.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on ECL shares. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. 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 report on Tuesday, March 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.56.

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.