91,827 Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL Acquired by Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension

Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 91,827 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,106,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kampmann Melissa S. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Kampmann Melissa S. now owns 13,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,746,000 after buying an additional 40 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 research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup decreased their target price on Ecolab from $330.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Mizuho set a $335.00 price objective on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Ecolab from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $322.53.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE ECL opened at $249.14 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $248.60 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $267.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $272.05. The firm has a market cap of $70.12 billion, a PE ratio of 33.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.92.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The business had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. This trade represents a 10.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total value of $6,147,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.