Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Lowered to $275.00 at Barclays

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target trimmed by Barclays from $300.00 to $275.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ECL. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.33.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $238.51 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $253.69 and its 200 day moving average is $248.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab has a 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week high of $273.69. The stock has a market cap of $67.65 billion, a PE ratio of 32.32, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Research analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % 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. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $726,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

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.