Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 668,812 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 52,082 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $180,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 7.8% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 247,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $66,618,000 after purchasing an additional 17,792 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 2,411.1% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 54,039 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,560,000 after buying an additional 51,887 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 406 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 44,767 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,091,000 after buying an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Ecolab by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,497,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $674,497,000 after buying an additional 205,634 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of ECL opened at $259.62 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $286.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $268.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $269.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.57 earnings per share. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 37.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 price target on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $323.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets set a $307.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $303.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Three investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.14.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,989,868.04. This trade represents a 23.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total value of $381,451.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,999.50. This trade represents a 19.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company 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.