National Pension Service Raises Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its Ecolab stake by 31.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 190,375 more shares and bringing its total holding to 788,288 shares worth about $206.9 million.
• Ecolab reported Q1 earnings of $1.70 per share, matching estimates, while revenue of $4.07 billion slightly topped expectations and rose 10% year over year. The company also guided FY 2026 EPS at $8.43–$8.63.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, equal to $2.92 annually and a 1.1% yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $322.53.

National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 31.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 788,288 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 190,375 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.28% of Ecolab worth $206,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 195.9% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 670,778 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $183,699,000 after purchasing an additional 444,053 shares in the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $113,287,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 594.6% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 493,525 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $129,560,000 after purchasing an additional 422,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 115.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 727,370 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $193,753,000 after purchasing an additional 389,981 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $256.28 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $261.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $271.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.13 billion, a PE ratio of 34.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 39.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho set a $335.00 price objective on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $322.53.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the business'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 value of $266,039.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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