Robert W. Baird Raises Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target to $243.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target increased by Robert W. Baird from $232.00 to $243.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Ecolab from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and raised their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a peer perform rating on the stock. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Ecolab from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $236.88.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $227.49 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $202.54. Ecolab has a 12-month low of $156.72 and a 12-month high of $231.86. The firm has a market cap of $65.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Ecolab will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 42.22%.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Coulter & Justus Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter worth about $11,175,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 4.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $717,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Team Hewins LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth $1,281,000. 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.