ING Groep NV Reduces Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

ING Groep NV cut its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 53.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 32,999 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 37,202 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $9,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $847,544,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted 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 worth $193,753,000 after buying an additional 389,981 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 344,541 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,662,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,644,987,000 after acquiring an additional 250,980 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in Ecolab by 49.7% in the 2nd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 741,253 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $199,723,000 after acquiring an additional 246,237 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total value of $381,451.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,999.50. This represents a 19.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 23,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,933,816. The trade was a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $327.00 price objective on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ecolab from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets set a $307.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Mizuho set a $335.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $317.80.

Ecolab News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ecolab this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and margin improvement: Ecolab reported adjusted Q4 EPS of $2.08 (beat) with margin expansion and revenue up ~4.8% y/y, giving the quarter a broadly positive read on profitability. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Above‑consensus FY‑2026 guidance: Management set FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $8.43–$8.63 and Q1 EPS of $1.67–$1.73, with revenue guidance roughly $17.2–$17.5B — guidance framed as conservative but implies continued margin-driven earnings growth. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Upbeat earnings call / confident 2026 outlook: Management commentary emphasized accelerating growth drivers (water, pest, life‑sciences) and margin leverage heading into 2026. The tone helped underpin investor confidence. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst price‑target raises: Jefferies raised its PT to $352 (buy), RBC to $337 (outperform) and Wells Fargo to $310 — these uplifts and buy/outperform stances support further upside potential. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and comparisons: Industry writeups and a head‑to‑head review vs. Toray outline competitive positioning and long‑term drivers but are not near‑term catalysts. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Pre‑market weakness/uneven investor reaction: Some outlets noted the stock dipped in pre‑market trading despite the beat — investors are parsing revenue mix and near‑term volume recovery, producing mixed sentiment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan keeps a neutral rating and a $295 target: Although JPMorgan raised its target from $265 to $295, it remains neutral and the $295 target is below current levels — a signal that not all sell‑side views are unequivocally bullish. Read More.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $303.18 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $272.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.99. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $304.30.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 40.11%.

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.