Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases New Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $767,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at approximately $847,544,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,190,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,898,565,000 after purchasing an additional 527,902 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 115.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 727,370 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $193,753,000 after purchasing an additional 389,981 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in Ecolab by 64.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 344,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bornite Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $68,465,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ECL. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. BNP Paribas Exane reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $345.00 price target (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ecolab from $265.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.56.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $275.64 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $286.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $274.56. 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 $309.27. The firm has a market cap of $77.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.97.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 12.91%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 90,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,907,351.78. This trade represents a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.