Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 37,212 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 152,078 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 37,212 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $42,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 25.9% in 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 position in Ecolab by 38.7% during 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 buying an additional 6,238 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Ecolab by 2.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 21,488 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,641,000 after buying an additional 4,886 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 251,977 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $66,149,000 after acquiring an additional 20,247 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.0%

ECL opened at $284.54 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $273.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $273.84. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.15 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.19, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.88.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.56.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director Michel D. Doukeris bought 7,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $258.00 per share, with a total value of $1,999,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 8,326 shares in the company, valued at $2,148,108. The trade was a 1,345.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total value of $2,608,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,733 shares in the company, 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. 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.