Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $257.73.

A number of analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.1 %

Ecolab stock opened at $253.25 on Tuesday. Ecolab has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $253.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $72.32 billion, a PE ratio of 46.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $243.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $235.29.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.22%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ECL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 626,127 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $124,195,000 after purchasing an additional 16,922 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $365,420,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its holdings in Ecolab by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 8,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Ecolab by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 822,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $163,157,000 after acquiring an additional 52,197 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.