Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $270.00 to $310.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Ecolab traded as high as $268.16 and last traded at $267.62, with a volume of 490684 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $263.81.

ECL has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $287.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,391 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $75.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $245.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $248.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

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.