Korea Investment CORP Makes New Investment in Ecolab Inc. $ECL

Posted by Francis Steltz on Aug 23rd, 2026

Korea Investment CORP acquired a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Free Report) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 152,509 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,491,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at $12,872,000. Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $307,000. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $438,000. Burnham & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,064,000. Finally, Robinhood Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $17,402,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup increased their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.56.

View Our Latest Analysis on ECL

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $281.91 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $79.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.84, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.88. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.15 and a twelve month high of $309.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $276.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Darrell R. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,539,712.37. This represents a 23.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Benjamin M. Clark bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $263.83 per share, with a total value of $263,830.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 1,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,727.89. This trade represents a 1,204.82% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 28,866 shares of company stock valued at $7,878,801 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab 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.