Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab Sells 15,404 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab lessened its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 31.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,015 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 15,404 shares during the quarter. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. UBS Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $325.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $352.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.06.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $267.23 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $75.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.16, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.15 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $265.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $273.15.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The firm had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid 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 was Tuesday, June 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 39.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total value of $266,039.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michel D. Doukeris bought 7,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $258.00 per share, with a total value of $1,999,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,148,108. This trade represents a 1,345.49% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508 over the last 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.