Piper Sandler Has Lowered Expectations for Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Stock Price

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its target price lowered by analysts at Piper Sandler from $305.00 to $270.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price points to a potential upside of 16.74% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.27.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $231.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $65.49 billion, a PE ratio of 32.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $245.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $193.46 and a 52-week high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Ecolab will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total value of $101,023,861.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,776,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,599,313,132.56. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 834,566 shares of company stock worth $205,225,417. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 27,950.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 738,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $188,578,000 after buying an additional 735,934 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 295.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 791,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $188,317,000 after acquiring an additional 591,040 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 580.7% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 303,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,248,000 after acquiring an additional 258,971 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 750.9% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 162,607 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,519,000 after purchasing an additional 143,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Ecolab by 64.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 330,475 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,380,000 after purchasing an additional 129,738 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

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.