Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Stock

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price target lifted by Citigroup from $290.00 to $305.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

ECL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.33.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL opened at $262.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $74.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.80, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab has a 1-year low of $212.71 and a 1-year high of $267.56. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $242.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $246.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.47%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total value of $17,216,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,178,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,176,511,348.95. This represents a 0.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 260,415 shares of company stock worth $63,544,899. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth about $330,000. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Ecolab by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 40,209 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,267,000 after acquiring an additional 1,717 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 2,188.9% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,852 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.