Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Raised to $305.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target boosted by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $290.00 to $305.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target indicates a potential upside of 16.83% from the stock’s previous close.

ECL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.27.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $261.07 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $241.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $245.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $73.92 billion, a PE ratio of 36.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab has a twelve month low of $201.99 and a twelve month high of $267.56.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.21, for a total value of $25,698,995.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,348,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 360,415 shares of company stock worth $88,350,899 over the last three months. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 27,950.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 738,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $188,578,000 after purchasing an additional 735,934 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 206.7% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $179,749,000 after acquiring an additional 516,970 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,564,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Ecolab by 50.2% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 886,653 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $207,758,000 after purchasing an additional 296,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,073,000. Hedge funds and other 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.