Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) PT Raised to $260.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its target price lifted by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $234.00 to $260.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 2.62% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $267.29.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $253.37 on Monday. Ecolab has a one year low of $156.72 and a one year high of $256.59. The stock has a market cap of $72.35 billion, a PE ratio of 46.92, 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 quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $245.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $237.51.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Ecolab will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,486,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,423,116,000 after acquiring an additional 304,402 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,558,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $608,851,000 after buying an additional 122,715 shares in the last quarter. Mirova US LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,975,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $470,149,000 after buying an additional 43,553 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth $390,687,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab by 1.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $326,626,000 after acquiring an additional 24,648 shares during the last quarter. 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.