Pensioenfonds Rail & OV Purchases 24,372 Shares of Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Pensioenfonds Rail & OV acquired a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 24,372 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,692,000. Ecolab comprises about 1.8% of Pensioenfonds Rail & OV’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Wellington Altus USA Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 64.2% during the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co bought a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Polaris Financial Partners purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth about $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $315.00 to $380.00 in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $344.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Ecolab from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.00.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. This represents a 19.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $308.12 per share, for a total transaction of $184,872.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 26,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,080,447. This represents a 2.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Ecolab

These are some of the ECL stories that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded Ecolab from Equal Weight to Overweight and raised its price target to $380 from $315—about 23% above the cited share price. The firm highlighted the CoolIT and Ovivo acquisitions and potential to benefit from AI data-center cooling needs. This water technology stock is set to get a big boost from AI, says Wells Fargo Ecolab upgraded at Wells Fargo, touting CoolIT and Ovivo acquisitions
• Positive Sentiment: Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares for roughly $184,900 at an average price of $308.12, increasing his holdings by 2.34%. Insider buying can signal confidence in the company’s prospects. Ecolab Director David Maclennan Acquires 600 Shares

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock traded up $4.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $309.01. 1,208,454 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,711,678. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $286.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $277.54. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.15 and a 52-week high of $318.93. The company has a market capitalization of $86.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18. Ecolab had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 22.57%. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Profile

Ecolab Inc. provides water, hygiene, cleaning and infection-prevention products and services to businesses and institutions. Its solutions help customers manage water use, maintain sanitary environments and support operational efficiency. The company serves a range of industries, including food and beverage, foodservice, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences and manufacturing. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing products, water-treatment programs, pest-elimination services, and related monitoring and consulting support.