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

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $267.56 and last traded at $264.07, with a volume of 331716 shares. The stock had previously closed at $245.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.33.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $74.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $242.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $246.20.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total transaction of $17,216,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,178,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,176,511,348.95. The trade was a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 260,415 shares of company stock valued at $63,544,899. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.