Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Receives $289.33 Average PT from Analysts

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $285.71.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.0 %

ECL opened at $234.98 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab has a twelve month low of $217.05 and a twelve month high of $273.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $254.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $249.16.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Analysts predict that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

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.