Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt Sells 78,300 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt lowered its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 677,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 78,300 shares during the period. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $185,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 39.8% in the second 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 last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 22.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.3% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 64,964 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,504,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 9.6% during the second quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,631 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,325,000 after buying an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $261.93 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $287.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $274.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.98, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.97. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $309.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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 expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ECL. Berenberg Bank upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $312.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. BNP Paribas Exane reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.24.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at $3,505,760.28. This trade represents a 10.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab 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.