Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Raised to $279.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its target price boosted by BMO Capital Markets from $260.00 to $279.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on ECL. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.20.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:ECL opened at $252.60 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $252.70 and its 200-day moving average is $241.58. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $159.15 and a 52 week high of $262.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market cap of $71.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the company’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. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at about $231,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 9.4% during the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 7.5% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 694,895 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $160,451,000 after buying an additional 48,617 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth about $2,997,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in Ecolab by 8.1% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,011,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

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.