Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Upgraded at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has $283.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $233.00.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler began coverage on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an overweight rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James raised their price target on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $243.44.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $244.50 on Monday. Ecolab has a 12-month low of $156.72 and a 12-month high of $245.93. The company has a market cap of $69.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $236.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.95.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Ecolab will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,680.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value 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 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 1.1% during the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,424,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 2,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in 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.