32,033 Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL Bought by Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA purchased a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 32,033 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,773,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,190,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,898,565,000 after purchasing an additional 527,902 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,479,529 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,469,019,000 after buying an additional 22,986 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at about $847,544,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in Ecolab by 3.6% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,610,791 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $703,452,000 after buying an additional 90,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 9.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 2,497,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $674,497,000 after buying an additional 205,634 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 11,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,505,760.28. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $281.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $286.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $274.54. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $309.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.73, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.97.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 12.91%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Erste Group Bank cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Mizuho set a $335.00 price objective on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.56.

Ecolab 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.