Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Given New $300.00 Price Target at Barclays

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its target price raised by Barclays from $260.00 to $300.00 in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on ECL. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.87.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $243.39 on Monday. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $186.00 and a 52 week high of $262.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.14, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $251.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 83,873 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.96, for a total transaction of $20,629,403.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,534,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,264,396,133.28. The trade was a 0.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. This trade represents a 32.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 662,228 shares of company stock valued at $163,358,368. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth about $264,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 32.9% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 18,862 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,355,000 after buying an additional 4,674 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 360.6% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,640,000 after acquiring an additional 15,733 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $414,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 208.2% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 266,788 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $62,298,000 after acquiring an additional 180,212 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.