JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target to $265.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $250.00 to $265.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 3.19% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on ECL. Robert W. Baird set a $307.00 target price on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer raised Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ecolab from $307.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.38.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $256.80 on Wednesday. Ecolab has a 12-month low of $221.62 and a 12-month high of $286.04. The company has a market capitalization of $72.83 billion, a PE ratio of 36.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $272.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $266.08.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.07. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 12.49%.The firm had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.57 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $278.51 per share, with a total value of $167,106.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,253 shares in the company, valued at $5,640,663.03. This trade represents a 3.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total value of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,171,108.84. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ecolab

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westfuller Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 69.2% in the 3rd quarter. Westfuller Advisors LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Ecolab by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 167,304 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,818,000 after acquiring an additional 27,558 shares during the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 30,798 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,434,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp raised its stake in Ecolab by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 21,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,765,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wendell David Associates Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc. now owns 71,278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $19,520,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.