Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stock: Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Trims Stake

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. cut its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 264,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 55,124 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned about 0.09% of Ecolab worth $72,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $6,422,340,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $244,381,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1.5% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,617,425 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,007,851,000 after acquiring an additional 51,712 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,412,057 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $641,609,000 after purchasing an additional 88,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 58.8% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,243,825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $596,902,000 after purchasing an additional 830,726 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on Ecolab from $299.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 target price on Ecolab and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on Ecolab from $342.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $324.50.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $292.32 on Friday. 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 $81.95 billion, a PE ratio of 39.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $280.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $272.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and cleaning solutions for businesses and institutions. The company helps customers manage water and energy use, maintain sanitary operations, protect food supplies and comply with health and safety standards.

Ecolab serves customers across industries including food and beverage processing, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, institutional facilities and energy. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, water-treatment and process-management systems, pest-control services, kitchen and housekeeping products, infection-prevention programs, and related equipment, training and consulting services.

Founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, the company has expanded from its original focus on cleaning products into a broad range of technology-enabled services and solutions.