Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Lowered to $265.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its target price cut by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $313.00 to $265.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 13.16% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on ECL. Redburn Atlantic lowered Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup dropped their target price on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.00.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL traded up $8.52 on Wednesday, reaching $234.17. The stock had a trading volume of 915,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,141,983. The stock has a market cap of $66.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab has a 12-month low of $216.10 and a 12-month high of $273.69. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $255.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $249.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ecolab will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease 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 Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,262,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 797.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,550,000 after purchasing an additional 15,834 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $381,552,000 after buying an additional 129,635 shares during the period. Corundum Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 47.9% during the 4th quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 7,548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,769,000 after buying an additional 2,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $246,000. 74.91% of the stock is 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.