Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Upgraded by Morgan Stanley to “Overweight” Rating

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $280.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $263.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on ECL. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com lowered Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 25th. UBS Group lowered shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.60.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL opened at $252.65 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Ecolab has a 12-month low of $195.49 and a 12-month high of $262.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $241.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $245.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.54 billion, a PE ratio of 35.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.21, for a total value 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 trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 425,430 shares of company stock worth $104,201,556. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $453,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.3% in the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 15,429 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,940,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.0% in the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,391 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.