Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $239.56.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Ecolab from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ecolab from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Mizuho raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $235.85 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.68, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.11. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $245.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $234.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ecolab will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,528.07. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,486,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,423,116,000 after buying an additional 304,402 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,264,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $449,215,000 after buying an additional 91,547 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,855,130 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $367,965,000 after buying an additional 155,151 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $365,420,000. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $390,687,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.