Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $256.45, but opened at $245.59. Ecolab shares last traded at $255.02, with a volume of 208,760 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $271.80.

Ecolab Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $72.23 billion, a PE ratio of 43.03, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $252.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.28.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Ecolab by 1.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 304,402 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Ecolab by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,558,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $608,851,000 after purchasing an additional 122,715 shares during the last quarter. Mirova US LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,975,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $470,149,000 after purchasing an additional 43,553 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $390,687,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Ecolab by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $326,626,000 after purchasing an additional 24,648 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

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.