Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Raised to $305.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its target price boosted by Piper Sandler from $270.00 to $305.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ecolab to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised Ecolab from a neutral rating to a buy rating and dropped their price target for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $265.43.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $254.59 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $245.50 and a 200-day moving average of $237.10. The stock has a market cap of $72.70 billion, a PE ratio of 47.15, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $256.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,586.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 23.0% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,137,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 71.7% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 735 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,382,000. Finally, Brown Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at approximately $951,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.