Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Bought by Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey

Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,865 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,406 shares during the quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $10,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,411,233 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,188,736,000 after acquiring an additional 261,489 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 0.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 22,986 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,089,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,036,485,000 after purchasing an additional 93,409 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,805,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $964,885,000 after purchasing an additional 145,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Ecolab by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,577,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $906,900,000 after buying an additional 27,619 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total transaction of $5,676,256.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,989,868.04. This trade represents a 23.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total transaction of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,171,108.84. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho set a $315.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $323.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.14.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $261.98 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $269.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.53. The company has a market cap of $74.20 billion, a PE ratio of 37.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.07. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.07. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 12.49%.The business had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Profile

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.