Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Upgraded by BMO Capital Markets to Outperform Rating

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $290.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $279.00.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.60.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $246.17 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $250.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $246.32. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $193.46 and a 12 month high of $262.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.71 billion, a PE ratio of 34.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.47%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total value of $15,850,657.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,388,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,408,775,055.80. The trade was a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 834,566 shares of company stock worth $205,225,417. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.