Brokerages Set Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Price Target at $288.00

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $288.00.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.7 %

ECL stock opened at $250.78 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day moving average is $252.09 and its 200 day moving average is $249.95. The stock has a market cap of $70.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab has a 1-year low of $217.05 and a 1-year high of $273.69.

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Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

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.

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