Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 404,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 16,244 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $110,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ECL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 39.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in Ecolab by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 5,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 559.5% during the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 13,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,714,000 after acquiring an additional 11,693 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ecolab from $265.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup upped their target price on Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total value of $390,454.90. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. This trade represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. This trade represents a 18.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $282.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $79.56 billion, a PE ratio of 38.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.97. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $285.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $274.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. Ecolab’s 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.