CIBC Asset Management Inc Increases Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 68,713 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,292 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $18,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,662,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,644,987,000 after buying an additional 250,980 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,479,529 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,469,019,000 after buying an additional 22,986 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at approximately $847,544,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,610,791 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $703,452,000 after buying an additional 90,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 9.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 2,497,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $674,497,000 after acquiring an additional 205,634 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ECL. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $303.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $296.00.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:ECL opened at $281.92 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $267.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $269.42. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $221.62 and a one year high of $286.04. The firm has a market cap of $79.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.70.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.07. The company had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 22.55%. Ecolab’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.57 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 16th. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 41.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 750 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 23,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,933,816. This trade represents a 3.37% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total transaction of $5,676,256.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,644 shares in the company, valued at $18,989,868.04. This represents a 23.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab 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.