Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $260.00 to $306.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Ecolab traded as high as $253.57 and last traded at $253.35, with a volume of 559755 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $250.54.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ECL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 626,127 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $124,195,000 after buying an additional 16,922 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $653,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $365,420,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 8,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Ecolab by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 822,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $163,157,000 after purchasing an additional 52,197 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.1 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $243.82 and its 200 day moving average is $235.29. The company has a market capitalization of $72.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.90, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

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.