Kentucky Retirement Systems Acquires 6,722 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Kentucky Retirement Systems grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 42.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 22,388 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,722 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ECL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $327.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Michel D. Doukeris acquired 7,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $258.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,148,108. The trade was a 1,345.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total value of $2,608,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,539,712.37. This represents a 23.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $279.36 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $243.15 and a one year high of $309.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $269.10 and a 200 day moving average of $273.43. The company has a market capitalization of $78.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.50, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.84.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%.Ecolab's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.14 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

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.

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