Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on ECL. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.60.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $240.74. 323,172 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,095,943. 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 twelve month low of $193.46 and a twelve month high of $262.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.76, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $248.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $246.35.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total transaction of $15,850,657.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,408,775,055.80. The trade was a 0.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 834,566 shares of company stock valued at $205,225,417. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. 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.