Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $277.47.

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Ecolab from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $276.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.6 %

ECL stock traded down $1.52 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $237.63. The company had a trading volume of 2,312,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 953,363. The company has a market capitalization of $67.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.33, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $195.49 and a 52 week high of $262.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $241.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $245.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ecolab will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from Ecolab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab's payout ratio is 36.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,408,775,055.80. This trade represents a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 834,566 shares of company stock worth $205,225,417 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its stake in Ecolab by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Abound Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 2,188.9% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 206 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.