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

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at Piper Sandler from $270.00 to $305.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 19.86% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on ECL. Citigroup raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $265.43.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.5 %

ECL stock opened at $254.46 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $72.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.12, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab has a 12-month low of $156.72 and a 12-month high of $256.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50 day moving average of $245.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $236.72.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth about $390,687,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Ecolab by 295.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 791,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $188,317,000 after purchasing an additional 591,040 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,182,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,598,240,000 after purchasing an additional 305,039 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 580.7% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 303,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,248,000 after purchasing an additional 258,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 136.0% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 359,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $85,467,000 after buying an additional 206,973 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

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.