Danske Bank A S Purchases Shares of 198,980 Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 198,980 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,438,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ECL. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth $28,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.56.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $280.36 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $78.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $275.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.66. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,087,281.98. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michel D. Doukeris bought 7,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were acquired 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. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.