Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Raised to $300.00 at Barclays

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at Barclays from $260.00 to $300.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 21.70% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on ECL. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.87.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $246.51 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $243.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab has a 12-month low of $182.39 and a 12-month high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total value of $15,850,657.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,408,775,055.80. The trade was a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. This represents a 32.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 478,355 shares of company stock worth $117,922,965. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 32.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 6,224 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,589,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 84.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 13,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,098,000 after purchasing an additional 6,137 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 50.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,895,000 after acquiring an additional 3,393 shares during the last quarter. 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.