Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Raised to $275.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $270.00 to $275.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on ECL. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $265.00 to $300.00 in a report on Monday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on Ecolab from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Ecolab from $303.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.31.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $277.20 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $265.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $269.22. The company has a market capitalization of $78.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.99. Ecolab has a 1 year low of $221.62 and a 1 year high of $286.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.07. The business had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 12.49%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.57 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 41.95%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $257.60 per share, for a total transaction of $193,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,933,816. This represents a 3.37% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total transaction of $5,676,256.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,989,868.04. This trade represents a 23.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Ecolab by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,190,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,898,565,000 after acquiring an additional 527,902 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,479,529 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,469,019,000 after purchasing an additional 22,986 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $847,544,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,610,791 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $703,452,000 after purchasing an additional 90,005 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 9.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 2,497,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $674,497,000 after buying an additional 205,634 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ecolab

Ecolab, Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. The company develops and supplies cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, dispensing equipment, water-treatment systems, pest elimination services and related technologies designed to help businesses maintain clean, safe and efficient operations. Its offerings span both products and onsite services, often paired with technical support and training.

Ecolab serves a broad range of end markets including hospitality and foodservice, food and beverage processing, healthcare, manufacturing and industrial operations, and energy and utilities.