49,415 Shares in Ecolab Inc. $ECL Purchased by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 49,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,533,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Corundum Trust Company INC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its position in Ecolab by 202.6% during the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 1,177.8% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 81.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $279.79 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $266.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $269.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $286.04. The firm has a market cap of $79.25 billion, a PE ratio of 40.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07. The firm had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 22.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.57 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 41.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,933,816. The trade was a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total value of $5,676,256.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,644 shares in the company, valued at $18,989,868.04. The trade was a 23.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ecolab from $291.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Mizuho set a $315.00 target price on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $265.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $296.00.

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.