Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Barclays raised their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.33.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $267.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $75.73 billion, a PE ratio of 36.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $244.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $247.34. Ecolab has a 1-year low of $215.41 and a 1-year high of $268.00.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, equities analysts expect that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,409 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Ecolab by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 103,730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,306,000 after buying an additional 9,858 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $2,478,000. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,187,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 448 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company Profile

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.