Here’s Ecolab’s (ECL) Commitment to Sustainability at the Global Agriculture Conference

Madison Investments, an investment advisor, released its “Madison Sustainable Equity Strategy” first quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here.  In the first quarter, the S&P 500 had a total return of -4.3%, with a significant -5.6% drop in March. This decline was mainly due to the impact of tariffs, which hurt business and consumer confidence. Expectations for strong economic growth and deregulation have decreased as the new administration’s trade priorities have become clearer. The strategy returned -3.32% (Gross) in the quarter compared to -4.27% for the index. Both sector allocation and security selection were positive during the quarter. In addition, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to find out its best picks for 2025.

In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Madison Sustainable Equity Strategy highlighted stocks such as Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL). Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) offers water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions services. The one-month return of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) was 4.70%, and its shares gained 10.93% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On June 11, 2025, Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) stock closed at $267.94 per share, with a market capitalization of $75.964 billion.

Madison Sustainable Equity Strategy stated the following regarding Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:

“Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) recently presented at a Global Agriculture conference and reiterated its focus on sustainability. Ecolab’s purpose is to protect people’s health and the planet’s health. Through its products and services, it protects people from infection in public spaces and across the entire food chain. The company also ensures that its customers can operate efficiently while using minimal water. Customers turn to Ecolab for help in solving and reaching their sustainability goals.”

Was Jim Cramer Right About Ecolab Inc. (ECL)?

A technician wearing a protective suit in a water treatment plant.

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 63 hedge fund portfolios held Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) at the end of the first quarter, which was 59 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the undervalued AI stock set for massive gains.

In another article, we covered Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) and highlighted the list of stocks that aligned perfectly with Jim Cramer’s predictions. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2025 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.