Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by Erste Asset Management GmbH

Erste Asset Management GmbH trimmed its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 160,231 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 30,371 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.06% of Ecolab worth $43,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 39.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in Ecolab by 22.9% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 23.9% in the second quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,107 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 8.0% in the second quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ecolab from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.56.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL opened at $306.42 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.40 billion, a PE ratio of 42.09, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $281.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $273.97.

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. The business had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.81 EPS. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 40.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,933,816. This trade represents a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at $27,907,351.78. This trade represents a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company 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.