Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Lowered to $294.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its target price decreased by Royal Bank of Canada from $306.00 to $294.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.47.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $229.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $243.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $245.58. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $195.49 and a 52-week high of $262.61. The firm has a market cap of $65.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.25, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total value of $101,023,861.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,776,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,599,313,132.56. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 834,566 shares of company stock worth $205,225,417 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its position in Ecolab by 62.0% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 2,188.9% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. 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.