Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target raised by investment analysts at UBS Group from $257.00 to $280.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 5.37% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.33.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $265.74 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $75.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $242.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $246.20. Ecolab has a 12-month low of $213.94 and a 12-month high of $267.56. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.21, for a total transaction of $25,698,995.82. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,348,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,079,209,816.61. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 260,415 shares of company stock worth $63,544,899 over the last quarter. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.