Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Raised to $282.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target boosted by UBS Group from $270.00 to $282.00 in a research report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an overweight rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $244.06.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.7 %

ECL opened at $246.12 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $70.28 billion, a PE ratio of 45.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $237.16 and a 200-day moving average of $222.28. Ecolab has a twelve month low of $156.72 and a twelve month high of $246.49.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 20.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab will post 6.58 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,486,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,423,116,000 after acquiring an additional 304,402 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,264,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $449,215,000 after acquiring an additional 91,547 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,855,130 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $367,965,000 after buying an additional 155,151 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $365,420,000. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth $390,687,000. Institutional investors 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.