Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension Grows Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 95,794 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,967 shares during the quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $25,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Ecolab by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,788,497,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110,472 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $1,022,334,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $880,506,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 26,152.0% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 945,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,810,000 after acquiring an additional 941,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,591,274 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $417,747,000 after acquiring an additional 813,996 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at $6,323,899.50. The trade was a 4.13% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have acquired a total of 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508 in the last ninety days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on ECL. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.29.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL opened at $274.60 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $77.28 billion, a PE ratio of 37.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $263.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $272.85. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.15 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 paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 39.51%.

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.