Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Raised to $265.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price objective raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $250.00 to $265.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

ECL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho set a $315.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $295.62.

Ecolab Trading Down 4.1%

Shares of ECL stock opened at $257.38 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $273.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $266.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Ecolab has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $286.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.98, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.09.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 22.55%. The business had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.57 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $278.51 per share, for a total transaction of $167,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total value of $383,398.64. Following the sale, the director owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 6.6% during the first quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 42,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,876,000 after purchasing an additional 2,651 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 32.4% during the first quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 14,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,551,000 after purchasing an additional 3,428 shares during the period. Mirabaud & Cie SA boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% during the first quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA now owns 5,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,291,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the first quarter worth about $284,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1,189.2% during the first quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 144,392 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,606,000 after purchasing an additional 133,192 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.