Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Lowered to Neutral Rating by Redburn Atlantic

Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $270.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock.

ECL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $286.88.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL opened at $252.27 on Monday. 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $255.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $250.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.55 billion, a PE ratio of 34.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. On average, analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,672 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,959,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 16.4% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 9,501 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,046 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $778,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 2,579 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $660,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.