Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Raised to $315.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $295.00 to $315.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $344.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $328.58.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE ECL opened at $302.80 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $282.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $276.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Ecolab has a one year low of $243.15 and a one year high of $309.27.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.18. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 11.99%. The company’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ecolab will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 39.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total value of $5,003,860.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. This trade represents a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter worth about $131,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 15.8% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 17,852 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,902,000 after buying an additional 2,437 shares in the last quarter. Northeast Investment Management raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.5% in the third quarter. Northeast Investment Management now owns 6,471 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 4,068 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 12.2% during the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 11,620 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and cleaning solutions for businesses and institutions. The company helps customers manage water and energy use, maintain sanitary operations, protect food supplies and comply with health and safety standards.

Ecolab serves customers across industries including food and beverage processing, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, institutional facilities and energy. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, water-treatment and process-management systems, pest-control services, kitchen and housekeeping products, infection-prevention programs, and related equipment, training and consulting services.

Founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, the company has expanded from its original focus on cleaning products into a broad range of technology-enabled services and solutions.