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

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target boosted by Piper Sandler from $270.00 to $310.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays upped their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Four research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $287.00.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.3 %

ECL stock opened at $266.60 on Monday. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $246.01 and its 200 day moving average is $248.29. The stock has a market cap of $75.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.12, 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 $268.15.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 22.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 20,632 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,268,000 after purchasing an additional 3,797 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 74.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 18,876 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,820,000 after purchasing an additional 8,068 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Ecolab by 5.4% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,762 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 6.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 30,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter worth $292,000. Institutional investors 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.