42,291 Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL Purchased by OP Asset Management Ltd

OP Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 42,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,250,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ECL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th 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 during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 39.8% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 0.8% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,684,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 49.4% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 58,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,741,000 after purchasing an additional 19,324 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michel D. Doukeris bought 7,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $258.00 per share, with a total value of $1,999,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 8,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,148,108. This represents a 1,345.49% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,323,899.50. This trade represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ECL. Bank of America boosted their target price on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $295.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. One equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.71.

Ecolab Trading Up 2.7%

Ecolab stock opened at $275.97 on Thursday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $309.27. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $77.67 billion, a PE ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $261.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.25.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion for 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $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 research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 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.