Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

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

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on ECL. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.6 %

ECL stock traded down $4.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $255.02. 1,848,564 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,315,295. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The business has a 50 day moving average of $251.70 and a 200-day moving average of $249.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ECL. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $1,262,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 797.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,550,000 after buying an additional 15,834 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 129,635 shares during the period. Corundum Group Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 2,444 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 37,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,669,000 after purchasing an additional 2,772 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.