Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 527,902 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,190,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 527,902 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 8.89% of Ecolab worth $6,898,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 64.5% during the third 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. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 25.8% during the third quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 72,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $19,773,000 after purchasing an additional 14,800 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 66,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $18,254,000 after acquiring an additional 11,322 shares during the period. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 162.4% in the third quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 5,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 3,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in Ecolab by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 597,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $163,744,000 after buying an additional 9,837 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore upgraded Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.06.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $298.90 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $274.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $271.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.66 billion, a PE ratio of 41.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $306.52.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.73% and a net margin of 12.91%.Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $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, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 16th. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 40.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at $5,933,816. This represents a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.25, for a total transaction of $381,451.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,999.50. This trade represents a 19.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab 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.