Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Stock

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its target price boosted by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $295.00 to $313.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 20.61% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.07.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.7 %

Ecolab stock traded down $1.71 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $259.52. 472,412 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,209,873. The business has a fifty day moving average of $242.06 and a 200 day moving average of $246.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $73.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.40, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab has a 12-month low of $212.71 and a 12-month high of $267.56.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. Research analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 83,873 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.96, for a total transaction of $20,629,403.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,534,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,264,396,133.28. This represents a 0.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 360,415 shares of company stock valued at $88,350,899. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,149,744 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,658,768,000 after acquiring an additional 105,289 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,181,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,317,811,000 after buying an additional 68,043 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Ecolab by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $936,300,000 after buying an additional 304,478 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,842,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $981,007,000 after buying an additional 35,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in Ecolab by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,499,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $586,309,000 after buying an additional 83,328 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.