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

Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $295.00 to $305.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Ecolab traded as high as $273.69 and last traded at $271.88, with a volume of 41701 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $269.01.

ECL has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $287,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $78,218,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1,448.3% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,773 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,805,000 after buying an additional 23,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 2,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $247.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.96. The firm has a market cap of $76.26 billion, a PE ratio of 36.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

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.