Groupama Asset Managment Buys 5,425 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,425 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $10,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter worth $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Corundum Trust Company INC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1,177.8% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 88.7% during the third quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $265.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday. One research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.24.

Ecolab Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $261.93 on Thursday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The firm has a market cap of $73.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.98, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average of $287.20 and a 200 day moving average of $274.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The basic materials company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. 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 fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total value of $6,147,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 90,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,907,351.78. The trade was a 18.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.04% 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.