Yousif Capital Management LLC Has $16.28 Million Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Yousif Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,230 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $16,275,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,190,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,898,565,000 after purchasing an additional 527,902 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 195.9% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 670,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $183,699,000 after purchasing an additional 444,053 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 115.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 727,370 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $193,753,000 after purchasing an additional 389,981 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter valued at about $97,664,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 64.5% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 878,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $240,676,000 after purchasing an additional 344,541 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 11,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,505,760.28. This trade represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was 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 directly owned 90,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $262.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $283.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.56. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The company has a market capitalization of $74.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.02.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 12.91%.The business had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ECL shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.56.

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.