Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 13,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,458,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 164.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 39.8% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,684,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 49.4% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 58,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,741,000 after buying an additional 19,324 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. UBS Group upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $325.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 1,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $283.71 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The business has a 50 day moving average of $261.68 and a 200-day moving average of $271.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $79.85 billion, a PE ratio of 38.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.90.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

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.