Norges Bank Makes New $880.51 Million Investment in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Posted by George Bondi on May 31st, 2026

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,354,053 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,506,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $701,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,355,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $844,000. National Pension Service grew its stake in Ecolab by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 788,288 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $206,941,000 after buying an additional 190,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Linscomb Wealth Inc. grew its stake in Ecolab by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 13,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,552,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $293.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $323.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.53.

Read Our Latest Analysis on ECL

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $256.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $261.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.41. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.15 and a 1 year high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.70. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. 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, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.51%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $250.65 per share, for a total transaction of $250,650.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,323,899.50. The trade was a 4.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,004 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.98, for a total transaction of $266,039.92. Following the sale, the director owned 11,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,087,281.98. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company Profile

(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.