Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Lowers Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA reduced its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 169,390 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 65,886 shares during the quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA owned about 0.06% of Ecolab worth $42,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,338,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 416.2% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 5,590 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,531,000 after buying an additional 4,507 shares in the last quarter. Saranac Partners Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Saranac Partners Ltd now owns 20,619 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,643,000 after buying an additional 1,501 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Ecolab by 640.6% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 33,528 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,182,000 after acquiring an additional 29,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $294.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.24.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $258.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $72.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.08. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $286.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $274.19.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.66, for a total value of $390,454.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,505,760.28. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total transaction of $6,147,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,907,351.78. This trade represents a 18.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.04% of the stock is currently 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.