Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Given New $270.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Piper Sandler from $305.00 to $270.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Piper Sandler's price target indicates a potential upside of 16.51% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on ECL. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group cut shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $276.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised Ecolab from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $278.27.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE ECL traded up $0.36 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $231.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,238,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,080,557. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $243.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $245.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Ecolab has a twelve month low of $193.46 and a twelve month high of $262.61. The company has a market capitalization of $65.62 billion, a PE ratio of 32.50, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.54 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.06, for a total transaction of $24,806,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,718,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,372,030,892.46. This represents a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 834,566 shares of company stock worth $205,225,417. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 62.0% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 2,188.9% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 206 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $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.

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.