Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Has $25.84 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 98,443 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,889 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $25,843,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,121 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,927 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,706,000 after buying an additional 3,344 shares during the last quarter. Sky Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sky Investment Group LLC now owns 24,950 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,550,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 39,951 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,488,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank grew its stake in Ecolab by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 186,314 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,911,000 after buying an additional 1,561 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ECL. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $320.00 to $296.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.56.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $265.74 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.97. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $221.62 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $285.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.59.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.670-1.730 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total transaction of $390,454.90. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.