Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ECL. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.60.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $237.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $247.21 and a 200-day moving average of $246.26. The company has a market cap of $67.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $193.46 and a 52 week high of $262.61.

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

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 36.47%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total transaction of $17,216,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,178,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,176,511,348.95. This represents a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 834,566 shares of company stock worth $205,225,417 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 5.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 301,591 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,005,000 after purchasing an additional 16,747 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 9.2% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,241 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,947,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 56,276 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,368,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in Ecolab by 797.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,550,000 after acquiring an additional 15,834 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.