Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Raised to $225.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price objective increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $220.00 to $225.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ecolab from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Ecolab from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on Ecolab from $211.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $216.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an overweight rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $236.88.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.3 %

ECL opened at $227.49 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $224.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $156.72 and a 12 month 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.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ECL. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter worth $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 150.0% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Motco acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.