Mizuho Cuts Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target to $285.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Mizuho from $302.00 to $285.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the basic materials company's stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $277.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $282.33.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.1 %

Ecolab stock traded up $2.55 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $238.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,409,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,147,721. The firm has a market cap of $67.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $253.24 and a 200 day moving average of $248.58. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $217.27 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) 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 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $1,262,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 797.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,550,000 after purchasing an additional 15,834 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Ecolab by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $381,552,000 after buying an additional 129,635 shares in the last quarter. Corundum Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 47.9% in the 4th quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 7,548 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,769,000 after buying an additional 2,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $246,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.