Brokerages Set Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) PT at $283.13

Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $283.13.

Several analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ECL. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,449 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC boosted 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 during the last quarter. Invesco LLC boosted 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 during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted 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 during the last quarter. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. boosted 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $1.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $264.16. 1,035,813 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,169,699. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $220.96 and a 12 month high of $273.69. The company's 50 day moving average price is $247.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $248.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.92 billion, a PE ratio of 35.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Ecolab will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

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.