Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Sells 4,693 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations sold 4,693 Ecolab shares, trimming its stake by 34.9% to 8,740 shares valued at about $2.29 million.
• Ecolab reported $1.70 EPS (in line with estimates) and $4.07 billion revenue (up 10% YoY), set FY2026 guidance of 8.430–8.630 EPS, and holds a MarketBeat consensus of Moderate Buy with an average target of $322.53.
• Significant insider selling occurred recently: CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares (~$6.15 million) and director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares (~$390,000), reducing their holdings.

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations trimmed its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 34.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,740 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,693 shares during the period. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations' holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 39.8% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 22.9% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,096 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,684,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 49.4% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 58,421 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $15,741,000 after purchasing an additional 19,324 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $325.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $310.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $322.53.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $259.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $73.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.99. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $249.04 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $275.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.25.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter 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, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total value of $390,454.90. Following the sale, the director owned 11,358 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. This represents a 18.05% decrease in their position. 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.

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