Groupama Asset Managment Acquires 10,502 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 28.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,851 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 10,502 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $12,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total value of $2,608,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. The trade was a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. This represents a 4.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased a total of 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508 over the last ninety days. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price objective on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.56.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $277.83 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $269.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.46. The stock has a market cap of $78.19 billion, a PE ratio of 37.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.89. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%.The business had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

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.