Waycross Partners LLC Has $25.92 Million Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Waycross Partners LLC grew its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 98,736 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,467 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up about 2.1% of Waycross Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $25,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 527,902 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth about $847,544,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,610,791 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $703,452,000 after purchasing an additional 90,005 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,497,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $674,497,000 after purchasing an additional 205,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Ecolab by 3.0% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,159,989 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $591,535,000 after purchasing an additional 63,629 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ecolab from $310.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. 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 research note on Wednesday, February 11th. BNP Paribas Exane reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $345.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.56.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total value of $390,454.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,505,760.28. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total value of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at $27,907,351.78. This represents a 18.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $260.82 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $285.53 and its 200 day moving average is $273.68. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $73.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.97.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly 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 $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. Ecolab’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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued 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, March 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.11%.

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.