Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $261.85 and last traded at $261.80, with a volume of 305714 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $257.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.80.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.51. The company has a market capitalization of $74.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 10.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th were given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total value of $950,196.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $390,687,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 295.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 791,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $188,317,000 after purchasing an additional 591,040 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,486,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,423,116,000 after purchasing an additional 304,402 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 580.7% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 303,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,248,000 after purchasing an additional 258,971 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 136.0% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 359,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $85,467,000 after purchasing an additional 206,973 shares in the last quarter. 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.