Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Cut to “Neutral” at Redburn Atlantic

Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $270.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $286.88.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $252.27 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.55 billion, a PE ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $255.53 and its 200 day moving average is $250.16. Ecolab has a fifty-two week low of $217.05 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last three months. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,262,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 797.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,550,000 after buying an additional 15,834 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $381,552,000 after buying an additional 129,635 shares during the last quarter. Corundum Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 47.9% during the fourth quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 7,548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,769,000 after buying an additional 2,444 shares during the period. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $246,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.