Swedbank AB Raises Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Posted by Geri Gentry on Jul 7th, 2026

Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Free Report) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,718,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 90,437 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $457,229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,327,693 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,649,026,000 after purchasing an additional 137,578 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Ecolab by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,788,497,000 after buying an additional 4,110,472 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,883,084 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,069,468,000 after buying an additional 441,747 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,635,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,472,599,000 after buying an additional 46,569 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $1,022,334,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL stock traded up $1.20 on Tuesday, reaching $284.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 237,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,531,214. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.15 and a 12-month high of $309.27. The company has a market capitalization of $80.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.55, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $262.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $272.33.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 12.80%.The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. Ecolab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-8.630 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 39.51%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,539,712.37. The trade was a 23.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. The trade was a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $2,719,508 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $337.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $326.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.71.

View Our Latest Report on ECL

About Ecolab

(Free Report)

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.