Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Lowered 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 morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on ECL. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $255.02 on Wednesday. Ecolab has a fifty-two week low of $217.05 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $249.94. The company has a market capitalization of $72.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its 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%. Analysts expect that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid 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 yield of 1.02%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 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.