Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Given “Outperform” Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada restated their outperform rating on shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $260.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on ECL. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a peer perform rating on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $239.56.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $233.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $227.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $209.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.41. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $236.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.57 billion, a PE ratio of 43.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,486,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,423,116,000 after acquiring an additional 304,402 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Ecolab by 4.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,774,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $470,078,000 after buying an additional 123,572 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 1.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,555,758 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $432,945,000 after buying an additional 41,545 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Ecolab by 3.9% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,294,838 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $391,224,000 after buying an additional 85,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,264,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $449,215,000 after buying an additional 91,547 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

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.