Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Given New $280.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its target price hoisted by UBS Group from $257.00 to $280.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.33.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $264.99 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $75.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.17, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $213.94 and a 12 month high of $268.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $242.68 and its 200-day moving average is $246.33.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. Equities research analysts expect that Ecolab will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 36.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.21, for a total transaction of $25,698,995.82. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,348,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,079,209,816.61. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 260,415 shares of company stock valued at $63,544,899 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in Ecolab by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.