Public Sector Pension Investment Board Increases Stake in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 17.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 22,127 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,301 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $6,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ECL. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in Ecolab by 64.5% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 878,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $240,676,000 after acquiring an additional 344,541 shares during the period. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 72,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $19,773,000 after purchasing an additional 14,800 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 66,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,254,000 after purchasing an additional 11,322 shares during the last quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 162.4% during the 3rd quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 5,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 3,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its holdings in Ecolab by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 597,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $163,744,000 after buying an additional 9,837 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $345.00 price target (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Erste Group Bank lowered Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total transaction of $381,451.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,999.50. This represents a 19.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,933,816. The trade was a 3.37% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $302.61 on Thursday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $306.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business’s 50-day moving average is $276.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.47.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.11%.

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.