Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Rating Increased to Outperform at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $290.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $279.00.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lowered Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.60.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL opened at $235.53 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $193.46 and a 52-week high of $262.61. The firm has a market cap of $66.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s fifty day moving average is $249.43 and its 200-day moving average is $246.19.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.47%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total transaction of $101,023,861.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,776,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,599,313,132.56. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 834,566 shares of company stock worth $205,225,417. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter worth $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter worth $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 42.1% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. 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.