Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $31.17 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 47.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 117,159 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 37,914 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $31,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 38.7% during the fourth 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. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position 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 during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 48,231 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,240,000 after purchasing an additional 3,464 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.2% in the 4th 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. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 100,542 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,394,000 after buying an additional 12,890 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ECL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.71.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.7%

ECL stock opened at $283.17 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $262.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $272.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.69 billion, a PE ratio of 38.32, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.89.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid 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 is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michel D. Doukeris acquired 7,750 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 approximately $2,148,108. This trade represents a 1,345.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased a total of 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab 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.