Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $289.33.

A number of research firms have weighed in on ECL. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 24th.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 over the last three months. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Remove Ads

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded down $12.59 on Friday, hitting $237.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,594,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,133,760. The company has a market capitalization of $67.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $217.05 and a 12 month high of $273.69. The stock's 50-day moving average is $256.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.15.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.