Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Raised to $324.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its target price raised by Citigroup from $315.00 to $324.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on ECL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ecolab from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Erste Group Bank began coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $303.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $291.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $296.00.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $281.92 on Wednesday. Ecolab has a 1-year low of $221.62 and a 1-year high of $286.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.85 billion, a PE ratio of 40.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $267.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $269.41.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07. The firm had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 22.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.57 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ecolab will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 16th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 41.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 750 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 23,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,933,816. This represents a 3.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total value of $5,676,256.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,989,868.04. This trade represents a 23.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,190,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,898,565,000 after buying an additional 527,902 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,479,529 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,469,019,000 after acquiring an additional 22,986 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $847,544,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,610,791 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $703,452,000 after purchasing an additional 90,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in Ecolab by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,497,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $674,497,000 after purchasing an additional 205,634 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab, Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The company develops and supplies cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, dispensing equipment, water-treatment systems, pest elimination services and related technologies designed to help businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations. Its offerings span both products and onsite services, often paired with technical support and training.

Ecolab serves a broad range of end markets including hospitality and foodservice, food and beverage processing, healthcare, manufacturing and industrial operations, and energy and utilities.