Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Increased to $306.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price objective raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $260.00 to $306.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 21.18% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Citigroup upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.73.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.8 %

ECL traded up $1.98 during trading on Monday, hitting $252.52. 69,160 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,114,324. Ecolab has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $253.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market cap of $72.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $235.09.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ecolab will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

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

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.