Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Sold by ABN AMRO Bank N.V.

ABN AMRO Bank N.V. lessened its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 118,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,531 shares during the quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $31,913,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,870,000 after purchasing an additional 6,238 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 330,698 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $86,670,000 after buying an additional 68,062 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 7.7% during the third quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 48,231 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,240,000 after buying an additional 3,464 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 163,731 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,464,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 100,542 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,394,000 after buying an additional 12,890 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.9%

ECL stock opened at $283.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $79.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.39, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.15 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The company’s 50 day moving average is $261.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.49.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Berenberg Bank raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.71.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the sale, the director owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total value of $2,608,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,539,712.37. The trade was a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.