Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 523,621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,360 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $143,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corundum Trust Company INC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 1,177.8% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 81.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 93.6% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ecolab from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.56.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $306.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $86.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.09, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $281.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.62 and a 12 month high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.