Strs Ohio Grows Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Strs Ohio boosted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 33.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 78,744 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,923 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $20,672,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,190,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,898,565,000 after purchasing an additional 527,902 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 195.9% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 670,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $183,699,000 after acquiring an additional 444,053 shares during the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $113,287,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Ecolab by 594.6% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 493,525 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $129,560,000 after purchasing an additional 422,471 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 115.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 727,370 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $193,753,000 after purchasing an additional 389,981 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on ECL. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Mizuho set a $335.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.53.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at $3,505,760.28. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. This trade represents a 18.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:ECL opened at $259.80 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $249.04 and a one year high of $309.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $275.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $273.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.16, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The business 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%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. 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, analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

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.