Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Raised to $305.00 at Mizuho

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at Mizuho from $285.00 to $305.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Mizuho's price target points to a potential upside of 14.69% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group upped their price target on Ecolab from $271.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $288.33.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.9%

Ecolab stock traded down $2.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $265.94. 130,730 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,177,367. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.19, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $263.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.49. Ecolab has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $274.17.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 22.53%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 176.7% during the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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