Rathbones Group PLC Boosts Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 289,572 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,792 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC owned about 0.10% of Ecolab worth $79,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Wealth Group Ltd boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.9% during the third quarter. Wealth Group Ltd now owns 853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 4.3% in the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,625 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.56.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $282.91 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $79.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $285.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $274.63. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 EPS. The company’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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 40.11%.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 750 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 23,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,933,816. This represents a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the sale, the director owned 11,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,505,760.28. This trade represents a 10.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.