Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Raised to $280.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target lifted by UBS Group from $257.00 to $280.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.33.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $264.99 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $242.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $246.33. The stock has a market cap of $75.04 billion, a PE ratio of 37.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. 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 has a 12 month low of $213.94 and a 12 month high of $268.00.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. Research analysts predict that Ecolab will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total transaction of $17,216,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,178,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,176,511,348.95. This represents a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 260,415 shares of company stock worth $63,544,899 over the last ninety days. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 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.