Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 78,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,992 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $20,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,190,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,898,565,000 after buying an additional 527,902 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 195.9% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 670,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $183,699,000 after acquiring an additional 444,053 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 115.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 727,370 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $193,753,000 after buying an additional 389,981 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at about $97,664,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Ecolab by 64.5% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 878,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $240,676,000 after acquiring an additional 344,541 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $265.74 on Wednesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $221.62 and a 52-week high of $309.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $285.08 and its 200 day moving average is $273.59. The company has a market cap of $75.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.50, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.97.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 22.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Tracy B. Mckibben sold 1,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,505,760.28. This trade represents a 10.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 20,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.37, for a total value of $6,147,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 90,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,907,351.78. This trade represents a 18.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ECL. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Ecolab from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $312.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.56.

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.