Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Raised to $310.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $305.00 to $310.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

ECL has been the subject of several other reports. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 target price on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $287.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $328.58.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of ECL opened at $302.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.88 billion, a PE ratio of 37.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $282.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $276.14. Ecolab has a fifty-two week low of $243.15 and a fifty-two week high of $309.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.18. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 11.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 39.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 72,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,431,170.48. This represents a 19.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the first quarter worth $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Wellington Altus USA Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 64.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and cleaning solutions for businesses and institutions. The company helps customers manage water and energy use, maintain sanitary operations, protect food supplies and comply with health and safety standards.

Ecolab serves customers across industries including food and beverage processing, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, institutional facilities and energy. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, water-treatment and process-management systems, pest-control services, kitchen and housekeeping products, infection-prevention programs, and related equipment, training and consulting services.

Founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, the company has expanded from its original focus on cleaning products into a broad range of technology-enabled services and solutions.