Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 3,428 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 221,082 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 3,428 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $60,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Group Ltd grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 4.9% in the third quarter. Wealth Group Ltd now owns 853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 4.3% during the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 3.4% in the third quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 4.7% in the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,625 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 90,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,907,351.78. This represents a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,933,816. This trade represents a 3.37% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL opened at $306.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $281.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $273.97. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The company has a market capitalization of $86.40 billion, a PE ratio of 42.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 12.91%.The company had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 40.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ECL. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ecolab from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group raised their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $265.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.56.

Ecolab Company 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.