Ecolab Inc. $ECL Position Raised by King Luther Capital Management Corp

King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 926,736 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,618 shares during the quarter. Ecolab comprises 1.0% of King Luther Capital Management Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $253,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 25.8% during the third quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 72,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $19,773,000 after purchasing an additional 14,800 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Ecolab by 20.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 66,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $18,254,000 after purchasing an additional 11,322 shares in the last quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. increased its stake in Ecolab by 162.4% in the 3rd quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 5,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,469,000 after buying an additional 3,320 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 597,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $163,744,000 after acquiring an additional 9,837 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup upped their target price on Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $312.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective (up previously from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.76.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $302.61 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $276.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $272.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.08. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $221.62 and a 52 week high of $306.52. The firm has a market cap of $85.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. The company’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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 40.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,933,816. The trade was a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total value of $381,451.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,535,999.50. This represents a 19.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.04% of the stock is 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.