Analysts Set Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Target Price at $327.56

Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $327.5556.

ECL has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price objective on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.2%

Ecolab stock opened at $274.07 on Friday. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $309.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $278.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $271.35.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.230 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 8.17 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.19%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total value of $5,003,860.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at about $6,422,340,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the second quarter worth about $244,381,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,622,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,788,497,000 after buying an additional 4,110,472 shares during the period. Capital World Investors bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,022,334,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $880,506,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab Inc (NYSE:ECL) provides water, hygiene, infection prevention and technology solutions to businesses and institutions worldwide. Its customers include restaurants, hotels, hospitals, manufacturers, food and beverage companies, retailers and other organizations that rely on safe, efficient and sustainable operating environments.

The company’s offerings include cleaning and sanitizing products, water-treatment and process-management systems, food-safety programs, infection-prevention solutions and pest-elimination services.