Stifel Nicolaus Boosts Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target to $307.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price objective increased by Stifel Nicolaus from $285.00 to $307.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.33.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $262.36 on Wednesday. Ecolab has a fifty-two week low of $212.71 and a fifty-two week high of $267.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.80, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $242.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $246.08.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.47%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of the 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. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 260,415 shares of company stock valued at $63,544,899 in the last three months. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at $330,000. Creative Planning raised its stake in Ecolab by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 40,209 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,267,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $453,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 2,188.9% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,852 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.