Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Raised to $310.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $270.00 to $310.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price suggests a potential upside of 16.95% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.00.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL stock traded up $0.38 on Monday, hitting $265.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 167,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,202,900. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $75.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab has a 1 year low of $217.05 and a 1 year high of $268.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $244.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $247.78.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Equities analysts predict that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value 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. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.