Ecolab’s (ECL) “Equal Weight” Rating Reiterated at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $240.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $265.00.

ECL has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $277.00 price target on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.00.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE ECL opened at $236.27 on Wednesday. Ecolab has a one year low of $217.05 and a one year high of $273.69. The company has a market cap of $67.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $253.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26.

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%. Research analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 over the last quarter. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

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