Ecolab (ECL) Rose Along with Rebound in the Materials Sector

ClearBridge Investments, an investment management company, released its “ClearBridge Sustainability Leaders Strategy” second quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The strategy underperformed its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index, in the quarter.  The strategy gained seven out of 10 sectors in which it invested during the quarter, on an absolute basis. IT and industrials sectors were the leading contributors while consumer discretionary, health care and utilities sectors detracted. Overall stock selection detracted on a relative basis. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2023.

ClearBridge Sustainability Leaders Strategy highlighted stocks like Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the second quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) provides products and services for water, hygiene, and infection prevention. On October 3, 2023, Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) stock closed at $165.56 per share. One-month return of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) was -8.84%, and its shares gained 9.41% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) has a market capitalization of $47.19 billion.

ClearBridge Sustainability Leaders Strategy made the following comment about Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in its Q2 2023 investor letter:

“A rebound for materials in June was helpful for water and hygiene solution company Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL), where strong pricing and productivity gains are more than offsetting ongoing inflationary pressure, as well as aluminum packaging company Ball, which rose on reports of a possible sale of its aerospace unit.”

A technician wearing a protective suit in a water treatment plant. Editorial photo for a financial news article. 8k. –ar 16:9

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 56 hedge fund portfolios held Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) at the end of second quarter which was 53 in the previous quarter.

We discussed Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in another article and shared the list of dividend stocks of 2023. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2023 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.