Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) PT Raised to $263.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price objective lifted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $263.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 3.64% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.13.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.0 %

Ecolab stock opened at $253.76 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.20 billion, a PE ratio of 42.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50. Ecolab has a fifty-two week low of $157.59 and a fifty-two week high of $262.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $252.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $241.50.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Ecolab will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Leeward Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 4.2% during the third quarter. Leeward Financial Partners LLC now owns 17,518 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,473,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 207.8% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,886 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,375,000 after purchasing an additional 19,501 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 13.9% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 716,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $182,872,000 after purchasing an additional 87,209 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth approximately $74,000. Finally, Northeast Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.9% during the third quarter. Northeast Investment Management now owns 5,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.