Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Stock Rating Lowered by UBS Group

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) was downgraded by analysts at UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $276.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.81% from the stock’s previous close.

ECL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.20.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $246.85 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $252.55 and a 200 day moving average of $242.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $70.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.13. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $172.79 and a 12 month high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total transaction of $15,850,657.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,388,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,408,775,055.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total value of $15,850,657.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,408,775,055.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 478,355 shares of company stock worth $117,922,965. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter worth $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ecolab during the second quarter valued at $33,000. 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.