Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Friday.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.60.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL traded down $2.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $247.39. 848,802 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,139,791. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $70.05 billion, a PE ratio of 34.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab has a fifty-two week low of $200.50 and a fifty-two week high of $262.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $241.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $245.95.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total transaction of $17,216,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,178,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,176,511,348.95. The trade was a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 360,415 shares of company stock worth $88,350,899. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 2.3% in the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.3% in the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 15,429 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,940,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 3.0% in the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,391 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by 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.