Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Cut to “Neutral” at UBS Group

UBS Group lowered shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $276.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.20.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $244.72 on Monday. Ecolab has a 12-month low of $172.79 and a 12-month high of $262.61. The stock has a market cap of $69.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.32, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a 50-day moving average of $252.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $242.49.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ecolab will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total transaction of $101,023,861.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,776,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,599,313,132.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total value of $101,023,861.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,776,418 shares in the company, valued at $7,599,313,132.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 478,355 shares of company stock valued at $117,922,965 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

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.