Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Shares Gap Down to $247.92

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $247.92, but opened at $222.05. Ecolab shares last traded at $232.85, with a volume of 487,841 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Raymond James raised their price target on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $244.06.

Ecolab Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $239.78 and a 200-day moving average of $226.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th were paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total value of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ECL. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 150.0% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Motco acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 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.