Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 8,648 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,866 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 8,648 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $33,922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab by 1.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,662,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,644,987,000 after acquiring an additional 250,980 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,479,529 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,469,019,000 after purchasing an additional 22,986 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth about $847,544,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,610,791 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $703,452,000 after purchasing an additional 90,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,497,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $674,497,000 after purchasing an additional 205,634 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ECL. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 price target on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $296.00.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL stock opened at $281.92 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $267.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $269.42. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $286.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.85 billion, a PE ratio of 40.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.07. The company had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 12.49%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $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. Analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,989,868.04. This trade represents a 23.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total transaction of $381,451.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,535,999.50. This represents a 19.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.