StockNews.com Downgrades Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) to Hold

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup increased their target price on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $250.78 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $252.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $249.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab has a 12 month low of $217.05 and a 12 month high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $521,399,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 98.6% during the fourth quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,427,083 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $334,394,000 after purchasing an additional 708,432 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in Ecolab by 206.7% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $179,749,000 after purchasing an additional 516,970 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,129,058 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $733,201,000 after purchasing an additional 514,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,564,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by 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.