Analysts Set Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Price Target at $289.33

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $284.00.

ECL has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $277.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. increased its stake in Ecolab by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $237.86 on Friday. Ecolab has a one year low of $217.05 and a one year high of $273.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $67.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.23, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50-day moving average of $255.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $249.45.

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, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ecolab will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

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.