Man Group plc Purchases 8,322 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Man Group plc lifted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 555,187 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 8,322 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.20% of Ecolab worth $145,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ECL. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 88.7% in the 3rd quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.41.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $268.87 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $75.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.38, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.90. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.15 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $261.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $271.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $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. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 39.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the sale, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508. 0.50% of the stock is 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.