Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Given New $270.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price objective decreased by Piper Sandler from $305.00 to $270.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on ECL. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.27.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $231.74 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $243.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $245.84. The firm has a market cap of $65.62 billion, a PE ratio of 32.50, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Ecolab has a 1-year low of $193.46 and a 1-year high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ecolab will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total transaction of $101,023,861.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,776,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,599,313,132.56. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 834,566 shares of company stock valued at $205,225,417. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 23,897 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,687,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.8% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 9,430 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,244,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 17.3% in the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 6,705 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,600,000 after buying an additional 990 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 11.3% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $977,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 3,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.