Raiffeisen Bank International AG Trims Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Raiffeisen Bank International AG lowered its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 179,373 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,403 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG owned 0.06% of Ecolab worth $49,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth about $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price objective on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.56.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michel D. Doukeris acquired 7,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $258.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,148,108. This represents a 1,345.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $278.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.88. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $278.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.13. 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 (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

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.