Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Buys 248,932 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2,470.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 259,009 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 248,932 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.09% of Ecolab worth $68,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Ecolab by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,788,497,000 after acquiring an additional 4,110,472 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $1,022,334,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $880,506,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 26,152.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 945,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,810,000 after purchasing an additional 941,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 58.8% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,243,825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $596,902,000 after purchasing an additional 830,726 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $268.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.36, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $266.62 and a 200 day moving average of $273.12. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Zacks Research cut shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total transaction of $2,608,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,539,712.37. This trade represents a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508 over the last quarter. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by 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.