Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

ECL has been the topic of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.60.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $240.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $193.46 and a 52 week high of $262.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $248.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $246.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total value of $101,023,861.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,776,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,599,313,132.56. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 834,566 shares of company stock valued at $205,225,417 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,835 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,007,000 after buying an additional 2,720 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,029 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $341,000. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,491 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,307,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the second quarter worth $7,899,000. 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.