Ecolab Inc. $ECL Shares Bought by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 305,144 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 8,309 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $83,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Corundum Trust Company INC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 202.6% in the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1,177.8% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 81.5% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Boo Alexander A. De sold 1,422 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,999.50. This trade represents a 19.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 750 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,933,816. This trade represents a 3.37% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $281.92 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $286.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $267.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $269.41.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.07. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 12.49%.The firm had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th were issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 16th. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group raised their price target on Ecolab from $291.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets set a $307.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 target price on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Ecolab from $303.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $296.00.

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.