LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 437.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,780 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,891 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,788,497,000 after acquiring an additional 4,110,472 shares during the period. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $1,022,334,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $880,506,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 26,152.0% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 945,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,810,000 after acquiring an additional 941,472 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,591,274 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $417,747,000 after purchasing an additional 813,996 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total value of $2,608,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,539,712.37. This represents a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at $6,323,899.50. This represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired a total of 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508 over the last ninety days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.29.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $274.60 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.89. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.15 and a 12 month high of $309.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $263.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.85.

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, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. Ecolab’s quarterly 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid 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 is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 39.51%.

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.