Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Raised to $305.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target raised by research analysts at Mizuho from $285.00 to $305.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Mizuho’s target price indicates a potential upside of 14.05% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.33.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $267.42 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.32. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $220.96 and a 52 week high of $274.17. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $264.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $253.67. The company has a market capitalization of $75.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Ecolab will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 19,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 5,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,414,000 after buying an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its position in Ecolab by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 104,153 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,249 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 19.3% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 120,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,467,000 after acquiring an additional 19,431 shares during the period. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,257,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 7.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,813,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

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.