KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Sells 26,300 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS decreased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 89,480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 26,300 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $24,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 1.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,662,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,644,987,000 after purchasing an additional 250,980 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $847,544,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 3.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 90,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 9.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 2,497,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $674,497,000 after acquiring an additional 205,634 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Mizuho set a $315.00 price target on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Ecolab from $303.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets set a $307.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $265.00 to $300.00 in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank started coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $294.86.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 23,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,933,816. The trade was a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total value of $5,676,256.74. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,644 shares in the company, valued at $18,989,868.04. The trade was a 23.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:ECL opened at $268.85 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $76.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.99. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $286.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $263.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $268.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

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

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 41.95%.

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.