DJE Kapital AG Makes New $613,000 Investment in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

DJE Kapital AG purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,320 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $613,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Riverwater Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 2,874 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,993 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $786,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Aviva PLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 223,152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $58,582,000 after acquiring an additional 13,100 shares during the last quarter. Caerus Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $295,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,373,717 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $360,628,000 after purchasing an additional 56,010 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ECL. Berenberg Bank upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $293.00 to $325.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This represents a 4.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michel D. Doukeris acquired 7,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $258.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 8,326 shares in the company, valued at $2,148,108. The trade was a 1,345.49% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired 9,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,455,678 over the last ninety days. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Up 2.8%

Ecolab stock opened at $264.30 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $261.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $271.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.76, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.51%.

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.