Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Acquires 68,062 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 25.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 330,698 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 68,062 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $86,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 64.5% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 878,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $240,676,000 after purchasing an additional 344,541 shares during the last quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 25.8% in the third quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 72,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $19,773,000 after buying an additional 14,800 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 20.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 66,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,254,000 after buying an additional 11,322 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its stake in Ecolab by 19.9% during the third quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 83,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $22,834,000 after buying an additional 13,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 162.4% during the 3rd quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 5,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,469,000 after buying an additional 3,320 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ECL. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Ecolab from $315.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.82.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 90,794 shares in the company, valued at $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total value of $390,454.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of ECL opened at $268.98 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $235.62 and a 52-week high of $309.27. The company has a market cap of $75.96 billion, a PE ratio of 36.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $279.98 and a 200 day moving average of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.11%.

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.