Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Receives $239.56 Average PT from Brokerages

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $239.56.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ECL. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Wolfe Research began coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Ecolab from $269.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,528.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,680.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,424,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 2,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $240.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $68.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $228.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $240.73.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ecolab will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

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.