Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Receives $295.14 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $295.1429.

ECL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ecolab from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Evercore ISI raised Ecolab from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $300.00 in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 750 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $257.60 per share, with a total value of $193,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 23,035 shares in the company, valued at $5,933,816. This trade represents a 3.37% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christophe Beck sold 21,714 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total value of $5,676,256.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 72,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,989,868.04. The trade was a 23.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth $28,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.9%

ECL opened at $261.14 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $266.26 and a 200-day moving average of $268.99. The company has a market capitalization of $73.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.98. Ecolab has a fifty-two week low of $221.62 and a fifty-two week high of $286.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.70.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07. Ecolab had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 22.55%. The business had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.57 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.95%.

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.