California State Teachers Retirement System Trims Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 492,286 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 8,224 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $130,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Ecolab News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ecolab this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ecolab reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $2.09, slightly above the $2.08 consensus, while revenue reached $4.42 billion versus expectations of $4.39 billion. Revenue grew 9.7% year over year, and adjusted EPS increased 11%, supported by pricing, volume growth, and productivity. Ecolab Q2 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to $8.05-$8.25, representing expected growth of 7%-10%. Strong demand was especially evident in Global High-Tech, where organic sales rose 29%, and Life Sciences, where organic sales increased 15%. Ecolab Raises 2026 EPS Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted accelerating growth across core businesses and improving margins, despite rising commodity costs and Middle East-related disruptions. Ecolab also repurchased approximately 1.2 million shares during the quarter. Ecolab Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target from $295 to $305 and reiterated an Overweight rating. William Blair also maintained a Buy rating, citing the earnings beat, higher guidance, and margin recovery. JPMorgan Raises Ecolab Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Ecolab expects third-quarter adjusted EPS of $2.13-$2.23, below the $2.27 analyst consensus, although the forecast still implies continued earnings growth. Ecolab Beats Q2 Estimates and Raises Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank modestly reduced its fiscal 2027 EPS estimate to $9.35 from $9.40, signaling limited longer-term earnings pressure despite the improved 2026 outlook.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ECL. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on 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 increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.44.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $283.58 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $79.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.06, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.89. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $268.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. The trade was a 4.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michel D. Doukeris acquired 7,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $258.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,148,108. This trade represents a 1,345.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.