Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys New Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 313,397 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,370,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Ecolab at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $324.06.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $268.73 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $266.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $75.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.36, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.89. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were given 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.51%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. The trade was a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.