Brokerages Set Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Price Target at $288.00

Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $288.00.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 over the last ninety days. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $252.06 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $252.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.00. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.33 billion, a PE ratio of 34.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released 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 return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

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.