Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) PT Raised to $267.00 at Citigroup

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its target price lifted by Citigroup from $257.00 to $267.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

ECL has been the subject of several other reports. Mizuho upgraded Ecolab from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, April 12th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Ecolab from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Piper Sandler began coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued an overweight rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $244.06.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $246.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $70.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s fifty day moving average is $237.16 and its 200-day moving average is $222.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $156.72 and a 12 month high of $246.49.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 20.56%. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab will post 6.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 14.7% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 27,173 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,603,000 after buying an additional 3,492 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 4.3% in the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.5% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,877,417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,875,434,000 after buying an additional 387,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $743,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by 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.