Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $279.87.

Several equities analysts recently commented on ECL shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL opened at $248.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.89, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $251.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $244.89. Ecolab has a twelve month low of $188.32 and a twelve month high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total value of $101,023,861.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,776,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,599,313,132.56. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. This represents a 1.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 834,959 shares of company stock valued at $205,323,667. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.6% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 56,276 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,368,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in Ecolab by 797.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,550,000 after buying an additional 15,834 shares during the period. Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth $9,830,000. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 276.3% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,886 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,290,000 after acquiring an additional 9,462 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 16.4% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 33,596 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,241,000 after acquiring an additional 4,731 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Company Profile

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.