Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Cut to $294.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its target price cut by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $306.00 to $294.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 27.85% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.47.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $229.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $65.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s fifty day moving average is $243.00 and its 200 day moving average is $245.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Ecolab has a 12-month low of $195.49 and a 12-month high of $262.61.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 30,388,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,408,775,055.80. The trade was a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 834,566 shares of company stock worth $205,225,417. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Graypoint LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $521,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 105,883 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,035,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 5,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,242,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $276,000. Finally, One Wealth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $217,000. Hedge funds and other 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.