Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Raised to $307.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $285.00 to $307.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ECL. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.33.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $262.36 on Wednesday. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $212.71 and a 12 month high of $267.56. The stock has a market cap of $74.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.80, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50 day moving average is $242.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

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

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 36.47%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.21, for a total value of $25,698,995.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,348,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,079,209,816.61. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 260,415 shares of company stock worth $63,544,899 over the last three months. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at about $330,000. Creative Planning grew its stake in Ecolab by 4.5% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 40,209 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,267,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in Ecolab by 2.3% in the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 2,188.9% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 6.3% in the third quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,852 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

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.