JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target to $255.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target lifted by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $228.00 to $255.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 0.21% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $306.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.20.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.3 %

ECL traded up $0.71 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $254.47. 324,669 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,079,109. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $252.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $241.50. The firm has a market cap of $72.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab has a 1 year low of $159.15 and a 1 year high of $262.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Ecolab will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,250. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at $231,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in Ecolab by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 694,895 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $160,451,000 after acquiring an additional 48,617 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,997,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.