Horizon Investments LLC Sells 4,264 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Horizon Investments LLC decreased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 24.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,950 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,264 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,400,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.1% during 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. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 195.9% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 670,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $183,699,000 after purchasing an additional 444,053 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 594.6% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 493,525 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $129,560,000 after purchasing an additional 422,471 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 115.6% during 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. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth about $97,664,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at $27,907,351.78. This represents a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price 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 upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.53.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $255.78 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $249.04 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $275.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $273.28.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Ecolab 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.