ABN Amro Investment Solutions Has $19.19 Million Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

ABN Amro Investment Solutions trimmed its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 22.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 72,147 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 20,662 shares during the quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions’ holdings in Ecolab were worth $19,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 330,698 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $86,670,000 after purchasing an additional 68,062 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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. Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 163,731 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,464,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1,167.3% in the fourth quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 39,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,466,000 after buying an additional 36,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,571,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ECL. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings cut Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.06.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $264.05 on Wednesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The company has a market cap of $74.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.73, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $265.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $273.12. 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 (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director Michel D. Doukeris purchased 7,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $258.00 per share, with a total value of $1,999,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 8,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,148,108. This represents a 1,345.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508. Company 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.