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

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target hoisted by Citigroup from $290.00 to $305.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

ECL has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.33.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE ECL opened at $264.99 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $242.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $246.33. Ecolab has a twelve month low of $213.94 and a twelve month high of $268.00. 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 company has a market capitalization of $75.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.17, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. Research analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 29,348,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,079,209,816.61. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 260,415 shares of company stock valued at $63,544,899. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth $26,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.