OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Invests $35.40 Million in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 127,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,396,000. Ecolab accounts for about 0.8% of OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho raised their target price on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price target on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,087,281.98. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Benjamin M. Clark bought 1,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $263.83 per share, with a total value of $263,830.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $285,727.89. This trade represents a 1,204.82% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,866 shares of company stock valued at $7,878,801. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $280.73 on Friday. 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 $78.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.68, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $276.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.84.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%.The business’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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