Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Trims Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations decreased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 34.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,740 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,693 shares during the period. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations’ holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Composition Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 9,256 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,430,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $113,287,000. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,331 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 251,977 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $66,149,000 after purchasing an additional 20,247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $218,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $259.80 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $275.74 and a 200 day moving average of $273.25. The stock has a market cap of $73.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $249.04 and a 12 month high of $309.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The company had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total value of $390,454.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,505,760.28. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. This represents a 18.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ECL. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Ecolab from $330.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $312.00 to $293.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.53.

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.