Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Acquires 4,107 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Key Points

• Swiss Life Asset Management increased its Ecolab stake by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, adding 4,107 shares and bringing its total holding to 54,863 shares valued at about $14.4 million.
• Insider activity was mixed: Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares, while Director David Maclennan bought 800 shares; insiders now own about 0.5% of the company.
• Analysts remain bullish on Ecolab, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $322.53, while the company also reported quarterly EPS of $1.70 in line with expectations and raised its FY 2026 guidance.

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,863 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,107 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Ecolab were worth $14,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 211 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 4.3% in the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 975 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 3.4% during the third quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kampmann Melissa S. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Kampmann Melissa S. now owns 13,384 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,746,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $256.91 per share, for a total transaction of $205,528.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 24,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,224,929.30. This represents a 3.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ECL. Bank of America upped their price target on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $326.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $345.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $312.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $330.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $322.53.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:ECL opened at $251.00 on Tuesday. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $270.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $272.60. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $249.04 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.64 billion, a PE ratio of 33.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.92.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.Ecolab's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

About Ecolab

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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