Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Cut to $265.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $313.00 to $265.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price indicates a potential upside of 11.14% from the company's previous close.

ECL has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $277.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Argus raised Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.71.

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Ecolab Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $3.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $238.44. 1,051,743 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,420,441. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $254.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $67.63 billion, a PE ratio of 32.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab has a twelve month low of $217.05 and a twelve month high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Research analysts predict that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $521,399,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 27,182.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,813,175 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $459,676,000 after buying an additional 1,806,529 shares in the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 98.6% in the 4th quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,427,083 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $334,394,000 after buying an additional 708,432 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 206.7% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $179,749,000 after acquiring an additional 516,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,129,058 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $733,201,000 after acquiring an additional 514,944 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

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.