Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Given New $275.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price objective reduced by stock analysts at Citigroup from $305.00 to $275.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 22.18% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ECL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $287.20.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE:ECL traded down $5.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $225.08. 1,952,296 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,141,739. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $63.84 billion, a PE ratio of 30.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab has a twelve month low of $215.43 and a twelve month high of $273.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $256.61 and its 200-day moving average is $250.01.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale 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 company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ECL. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,262,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 797.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,550,000 after purchasing an additional 15,834 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 8.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 129,635 shares in the last quarter. Corundum Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 47.9% in the fourth quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 7,548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,769,000 after buying an additional 2,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $246,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

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.