Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Given “Outperform” Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $260.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on ECL. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a peer perform rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Ecolab from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and boosted their target price for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $239.56.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of ECL stock opened at $243.88 on Thursday. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $245.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $231.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $217.21. The company has a market capitalization of $69.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.16, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.12.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 20.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total value of $1,023,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,528.07. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ECL. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,154,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 521,488 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $88,340,000 after purchasing an additional 125,800 shares during the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 3,146 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 135,986 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,036,000 after purchasing an additional 5,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $243,000. 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.