California Public Employees Retirement System Reduces Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 8.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 547,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 49,044 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.19% of Ecolab worth $145,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ECL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.06.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $272.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $76.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.93, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.89. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.15 and a 52-week high of $309.27. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $264.97 and its 200 day moving average is $273.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced 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. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The business had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 39.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark bought 1,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $263.83 per share, for a total transaction of $263,830.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 1,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $285,727.89. This trade represents a 1,204.82% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 bought 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.