Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Receives $257.73 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $262.21.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ECL. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $254.92 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $156.72 and a 12 month high of $255.29. The stock has a market cap of $72.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.21, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50 day moving average is $244.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.24.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,586.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Ecolab by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 626,127 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $124,195,000 after purchasing an additional 16,922 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $653,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $365,420,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 8,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 822,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $163,157,000 after acquiring an additional 52,197 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.