Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stock: E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB Raises Stake

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB grew its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 29.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,586 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,660 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cardinal Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 44,588 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,626 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 183,614 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $50,417,000 after buying an additional 4,326 shares in the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT raised its position in Ecolab by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 5,419 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,488,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sawyer & Company Inc purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,786,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $292.32 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $280.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.41. 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 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The stock has a market cap of $81.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.24, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.87.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The firm’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. On average, analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued 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 payout ratio is 39.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab 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 value of $5,003,860.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $299.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho increased their price target on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Ecolab from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.