Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stock: Robeco Schweiz AG Boosts Stake

Robeco Schweiz AG grew its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 220,008 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,034 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up 1.1% of Robeco Schweiz AG’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Robeco Schweiz AG owned approximately 0.08% of Ecolab worth $60,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wellington Altus USA Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 64.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Polaris Financial Partners bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $288.52 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $280.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $272.53. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $243.15 and a one year high of $309.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.88 billion, a PE ratio of 38.73, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The company’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, research 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,431,170.48. This trade represents a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. 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, DA Davidson raised their target price on Ecolab from $287.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $324.50.

About Ecolab

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.