Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Given New $280.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target lifted by UBS Group from $257.00 to $280.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.33.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $262.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $242.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $246.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.80, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $212.71 and a 52 week high of $267.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total value of $17,216,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,178,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,176,511,348.95. This represents a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 260,415 shares of company stock valued at $63,544,899 in the last three months. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 32.7% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,356 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in Ecolab by 15.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 6,224 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,589,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,262,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Ecolab by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $381,552,000 after purchasing an additional 129,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in Ecolab by 797.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.