Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Raised to $243.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price objective lifted by Robert W. Baird from $232.00 to $243.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on ECL. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $238.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Ecolab from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $236.88.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.3 %

Ecolab stock opened at $227.50 on Wednesday. Ecolab has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $231.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.13, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $224.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $202.96.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 20.56%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% in the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,424,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 2,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Ecolab by 19.1% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

About Ecolab

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.