Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target to $260.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $250.00 to $260.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price suggests a potential downside of 0.47% from the stock's previous close.

ECL has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $283.13.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE ECL opened at $261.22 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $246.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $247.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Ecolab has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.09 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Ecolab's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Ecolab during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth 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. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 176.7% during the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.