Kentucky Retirement Systems Raises Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Kentucky Retirement Systems lifted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 42.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 22,388 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,722 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,956,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE ECL opened at $279.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $78.62 billion, a PE ratio of 37.50, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.89. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.15 and a 12 month high of $309.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $269.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $273.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price objective on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Ecolab from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $263.83 per share, for a total transaction of $263,830.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 1,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $285,727.89. This represents a 1,204.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total value of $2,608,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,733 shares in the company, valued at $8,539,712.37. The trade was a 23.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508 over the last 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Ecolab

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.