JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target to $255.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $228.00 to $255.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the basic materials company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price points to a potential upside of 0.21% from the stock's current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on ECL. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $277.20.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $0.71 on Wednesday, hitting $254.47. 324,669 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,079,109. The company has a market capitalization of $72.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $252.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $241.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Ecolab has a one year low of $159.15 and a one year high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 84.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 13,415 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,098,000 after acquiring an additional 6,137 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 50.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,895,000 after buying an additional 3,393 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,194,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in Ecolab by 9.6% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 283,748 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $65,653,000 after acquiring an additional 24,910 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

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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