Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Reduces Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lowered its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 236,685 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 43,686 shares during the period. Ecolab accounts for approximately 1.1% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $62,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,138,000. Saranac Partners Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Saranac Partners Ltd now owns 24,744 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,505,000 after purchasing an additional 4,125 shares in the last quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 6,353 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,668,000 after purchasing an additional 989 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 86,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $22,832,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,361 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,983,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ECL. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $321.06.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $245.61 on Wednesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $69.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.24, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s fifty day moving average is $265.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total value of $390,454.90. Following the sale, the director owned 11,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,505,760.28. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.