UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Stock Price

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price objective lifted by UBS Group from $257.00 to $280.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. 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 note on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.33.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $262.36 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $242.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $246.08. The stock has a market cap of $74.29 billion, a PE ratio of 36.80, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab has a fifty-two week low of $212.71 and a fifty-two week high of $267.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. On average, equities analysts expect that Ecolab will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.21, for a total transaction of $25,698,995.82. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,348,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,079,209,816.61. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 260,415 shares of company stock worth $63,544,899. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $521,399,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 27,950.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 738,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $188,578,000 after acquiring an additional 735,934 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 206.7% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $179,749,000 after acquiring an additional 516,970 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $80,564,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $936,300,000 after acquiring an additional 304,478 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.