Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $267.56 and last traded at $264.07, with a volume of 331716 shares. The stock had previously closed at $245.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.60.

Ecolab Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $241.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $245.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 36.47%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.21, for a total transaction of $25,698,995.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,348,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,079,209,816.61. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 360,415 shares of company stock worth $88,350,899. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 27,950.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 738,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $188,578,000 after buying an additional 735,934 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 206.7% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $179,749,000 after acquiring an additional 516,970 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $80,564,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $61,073,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,204,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.