Brokerages Set Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) PT at $290.92

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $291.6923.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Baird R W raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $268.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $76.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.09. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $221.62 and a 52 week high of $286.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $274.06 and a 200-day moving average of $265.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.07. The company had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.57 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.71%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total transaction of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $912,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 4,465 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,223,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 2,153 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth $259,000. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is 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.