Insider Buying: Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Director Purchases $184,872.00 in Stock

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $308.12 per share, for a total transaction of $184,872.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 26,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,080,447. The trade was a 2.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock traded up $4.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $309.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,208,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,711,678. The company has a market cap of $86.67 billion, a PE ratio of 42.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $286.49 and a 200-day moving average of $277.54. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.15 and a 52 week high of $318.93.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 11.99%. Ecolab’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Wellington Altus USA Inc. raised its holdings in Ecolab by 64.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth $30,000. Polaris Financial Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Latest Ecolab News

Here’s some of the latest news about ECL:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded Ecolab from Equal Weight to Overweight and raised its price target to $380 from $315—about 23% above the cited share price. The firm highlighted the CoolIT and Ovivo acquisitions and potential to benefit from AI data-center cooling needs. This water technology stock is set to get a big boost from AI, says Wells Fargo Ecolab upgraded at Wells Fargo, touting CoolIT and Ovivo acquisitions
• Positive Sentiment: Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares for roughly $184,900 at an average price of $308.12, increasing his holdings by 2.34%. Insider buying can signal confidence in the company’s prospects. Ecolab Director David Maclennan Acquires 600 Shares

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ECL. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $344.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ecolab from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ecolab from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Zacks Research raised Ecolab from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Ecolab from $287.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.00.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc. provides water, hygiene, cleaning and infection-prevention products and services to businesses and institutions. Its solutions help customers manage water use, maintain sanitary environments and support operational efficiency. The company serves a range of industries, including food and beverage, foodservice, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences and manufacturing. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing products, water-treatment programs, pest-elimination services, and related monitoring and consulting support.