Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Raised to $260.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its target price raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $238.00 to $260.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

ECL has been the topic of a number of other reports. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued an overweight rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $236.88.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $227.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $224.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $202.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.04 billion, a PE ratio of 42.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $231.86.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Ecolab will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.1% in the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 38,730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,561,000 after acquiring an additional 6,078 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 63.7% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 168,979 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,625,000 after purchasing an additional 65,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% during the third quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 5,158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $874,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. 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.