Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stock Sold by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. trimmed its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 17.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 264,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 55,124 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $72,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,422,340,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth $244,381,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.5% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,617,425 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,007,851,000 after buying an additional 51,712 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,412,057 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $641,609,000 after buying an additional 88,096 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Ecolab by 58.8% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,243,825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $596,902,000 after buying an additional 830,726 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE:ECL opened at $292.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $280.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $272.41.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Ecolab from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $342.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $287.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $324.50.

Ecolab Profile

Ecolab Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and cleaning solutions for businesses and institutions. The company helps customers manage water and energy use, maintain sanitary operations, protect food supplies and comply with health and safety standards.

Ecolab serves customers across industries including food and beverage processing, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, institutional facilities and energy. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, water-treatment and process-management systems, pest-control services, kitchen and housekeeping products, infection-prevention programs, and related equipment, training and consulting services.

Founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, the company has expanded from its original focus on cleaning products into a broad range of technology-enabled services and solutions.