Iyo Bank Ltd. Invests $3.89 Million in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Iyo Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 13,950 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,887,000. Ecolab accounts for about 1.2% of Iyo Bank Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ECL. TRB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at $246,000. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,244,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $453,000. Korea Investment CORP bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,491,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $12,872,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price target on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.56.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michel D. Doukeris acquired 7,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $258.00 per share, with a total value of $1,999,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 8,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,148,108. The trade was a 1,345.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 28,866 shares of company stock valued at $7,878,801. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $281.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.84. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.15 and a 52-week high of $309.27. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $276.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.73. The firm has a market cap of $79.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.84, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.88.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%.The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.