Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target to $260.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $250.00 to $260.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on ECL. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.13.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $262.22 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $74.37 billion, a PE ratio of 35.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $246.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $247.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $220.96 and a 12 month high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ecolab will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,411,233 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,188,736,000 after purchasing an additional 261,489 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,273,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,231,873,000 after purchasing an additional 91,475 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 2.3% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,089,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,036,485,000 after purchasing an additional 93,409 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 4.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,805,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $964,885,000 after acquiring an additional 145,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Ecolab by 0.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,577,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $906,900,000 after acquiring an additional 27,619 shares in the last quarter. 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.