Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) PT Raised to $260.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price objective boosted by Royal Bank of Canada from $238.00 to $260.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho raised Ecolab from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the company from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ecolab from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Ecolab from $237.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $236.88.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.3 %

Ecolab stock opened at $227.50 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $224.62 and a 200-day moving average of $202.96. The company has a market cap of $65.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. Ecolab has a one year low of $156.72 and a one year high of $231.86.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ECL. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 2,805.1% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 38,492 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,635,000 after acquiring an additional 37,167 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 111,563 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $22,129,000 after purchasing an additional 2,051 shares during the last quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 526.2% in the fourth quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 56,959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,298,000 after buying an additional 47,863 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 87,402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,338,000 after acquiring an additional 9,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,040,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company Profile

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.