UBS Group Raises Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target to $280.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its target price upped by equities researchers at UBS Group from $257.00 to $280.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 5.37% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised their target price on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.33.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:ECL opened at $265.74 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $242.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.20. 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 has a 12 month low of $213.94 and a 12 month high of $267.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.25 billion, a PE ratio of 37.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 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, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. Research analysts predict that Ecolab will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,348,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,079,209,816.61. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 260,415 shares of company stock worth $63,544,899 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,149,744 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,658,768,000 after buying an additional 105,289 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,273,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,231,873,000 after purchasing an additional 91,475 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in Ecolab by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $936,300,000 after purchasing an additional 304,478 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 0.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,842,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $981,007,000 after purchasing an additional 35,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,993,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $701,438,000 after purchasing an additional 165,949 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.