Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Raised to $234.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price objective hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $227.00 to $234.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ecolab from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ecolab from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ecolab from $211.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $236.88.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $227.50 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $65.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.13, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $224.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $202.96. Ecolab has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $231.86.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Motco purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2,042.9% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.