Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Given New $234.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price objective hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $227.00 to $234.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on ECL. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $211.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ecolab from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ecolab from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $233.65.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $224.98 on Wednesday. Ecolab has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $231.86. The company has a market capitalization of $64.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released 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. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 20.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.49 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 19th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cross Staff Investments Inc bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at about $231,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 4.5% in the first quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 40,390 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,326,000 after buying an additional 1,748 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 6.6% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 87,440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,190,000 after buying an additional 5,428 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,475 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,880,000 after buying an additional 1,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 4,659 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,076,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.