PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators Acquires Shares of 69,642 Ecolab Inc. $ECL

PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators acquired a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 69,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,282,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 79,245 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,803,000 after purchasing an additional 3,560 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 50.2% in the 4th quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 8,088.0% in the 4th quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 4,094 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 4,044 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 8,297 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,178,000 after purchasing an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 165,601 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,474,000 after purchasing an additional 16,475 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $258.60 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $261.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.23. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.15 and a 12 month high of $309.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.99, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 39.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ECL. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $330.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $293.00 to $325.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Company 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.