Janus Henderson Group PLC Has $452.54 Million Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,701,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 109,877 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $452,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of Ecolab 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. This trade represents a 23.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on ECL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price objective on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their target price on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research downgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.56.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $279.36 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $243.15 and a one year high of $309.27. The company has a market cap of $78.62 billion, a PE ratio of 37.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $269.10 and a 200-day moving average of $273.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%.The business had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.19%.

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.