Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) PT Raised to $305.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $270.00 to $305.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 19.86% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.43.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of ECL opened at $254.46 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.72. The company has a market cap of $72.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Ecolab has a one year low of $156.72 and a one year high of $256.59.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,586.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth approximately $390,687,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 295.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 791,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $188,317,000 after acquiring an additional 591,040 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Ecolab by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,182,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,598,240,000 after purchasing an additional 305,039 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Ecolab by 580.7% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 303,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,248,000 after acquiring an additional 258,971 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 136.0% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 359,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $85,467,000 after purchasing an additional 206,973 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.