Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Has $6.31 Million Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV cut its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 27,337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 214 shares during the period. Ecolab makes up 0.7% of Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $6,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 150.0% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Motco bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 2,042.9% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $236.23. 134,293 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,163,857. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $220.14. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.72 and a fifty-two week high of $245.93. The stock has a market cap of $67.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,528.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total value of $1,023,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on Ecolab from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $239.56.

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.