Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Raises Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 4,600 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $18,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 449,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $118,103,000 after buying an additional 6,953 shares during the last quarter. Sun Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $290,000. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 917 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 1,309 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,747 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ECL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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. Berenberg Bank upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $312.00 to $293.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Erste Group Bank cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total value of $6,147,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total value of $390,454.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $255.78 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $249.04 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.24 billion, a PE ratio of 34.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $275.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $273.28.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The company had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. 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.