Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 63,666 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund significantly reduced its stake in Ecolab by 88.8%, selling 63,666 shares and retaining only 8,019 shares valued at approximately $2.03 million.
• Ecolab's shares saw an increase of $1.6620, reaching $285.3220, with the stock currently holding a market cap of $80.92 billion and a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 38.09.
October 15th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.9%.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 88.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,019 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 63,666 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,482 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,911,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Ecolab by 10,125.0% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 409 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. S Bank Fund Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $3,582,000. National Pension Service boosted its stake in Ecolab by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 852,282 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $216,071,000 after purchasing an additional 85,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 6,210 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,574,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $0.7750 during trading on Friday, reaching $283.8350. 557,229 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,303,572. The company has a market capitalization of $80.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $269.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $259.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $286.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. Ecolab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.420-7.620 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Baird R W raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Ecolab from $293.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $291.21.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total value of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $225,378.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Profile

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.