Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target to $295.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its target price upped by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $275.00 to $295.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 6.07% from the stock’s current price.

ECL has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Ecolab from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.56.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL traded down $5.59 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $278.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 93,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,488,530. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Ecolab has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.38. The stock has a market cap of $78.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.39, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.89.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%.The business had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 research analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Benjamin M. Clark purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $263.83 per share, for a total transaction of $263,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $250.65 per share, with a total value of $250,650.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 25,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,323,899.50. This represents a 4.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired a total of 10,550 shares of company stock worth $2,719,508 in the last quarter. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in Ecolab by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 330,698 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $86,670,000 after acquiring an additional 68,062 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,870,000 after purchasing an additional 6,238 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Ecolab by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 163,731 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,464,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 1,167.3% in the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 39,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,466,000 after purchasing an additional 36,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,571,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company Profile

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.