Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Insider Buying Activity

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as $232.52 and last traded at $232.45, with a volume of 368525 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $228.95.

Specifically, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,528.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $216.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ecolab from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Ecolab from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.88.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $225.01 and its 200-day moving average is $204.50.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 150.0% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Motco acquired a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by 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.