Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading 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 changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $250.54.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc raised its holdings in Ecolab by 1.6% in the second quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 2,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 42.1% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 1.1% during the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its stake in Ecolab by 0.8% in the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 6,122 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 1.2% in the second quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 4,023 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $243.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $235.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

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.