Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target to $295.00

by · The Markets Daily

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Free Report) had its target price upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $270.00 to $295.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Ecolab from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Ecolab from a neutral rating to a buy rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $269.07.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Ecolab

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $255.68 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $246.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $238.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.35, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $256.59.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 42.22%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,586.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 84.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 13,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,098,000 after buying an additional 6,137 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in Ecolab by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,128,977 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $223,933,000 after buying an additional 62,434 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 50.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,171,000 after buying an additional 1,660 shares in the last quarter. Gillson Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,374,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,895,000 after acquiring an additional 3,393 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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