Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases Shares of 94,094 Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 94,094 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,216,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 39.8% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in Ecolab by 22.9% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 0.8% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,684,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Ecolab by 49.4% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 58,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,741,000 after purchasing an additional 19,324 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.56.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL opened at $287.06 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $278.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $273.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $309.27. The firm has a market cap of $80.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.53, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.88.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%.The business’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.89, for a total transaction of $2,608,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,539,712.37. This represents a 23.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Benjamin M. Clark purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $263.83 per share, for a total transaction of $263,830.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 1,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $285,727.89. The trade was a 1,204.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.