Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.60.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of ECL stock opened at $237.76 on Wednesday. Ecolab has a 12-month low of $193.46 and a 12-month high of $262.61. The company has a market capitalization of $67.32 billion, a PE ratio of 33.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $247.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $246.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

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

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 36.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total transaction of $101,023,861.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,776,418 shares in the company, valued at $7,599,313,132.56. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 834,566 shares of company stock worth $205,225,417. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 27,950.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 738,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $188,578,000 after acquiring an additional 735,934 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 295.2% in 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 during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 580.7% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its stake in Ecolab by 750.9% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 162,607 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,519,000 after buying an additional 143,497 shares during the last quarter. 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.