Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Invests $6.64 Million in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 26,175 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $6,636,000. Ecolab accounts for approximately 0.8% of Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 13.0% during the first quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 15.8% in the first quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,934 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter worth $5,022,000. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.9% in the first quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 3,109 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Osprey Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 30.4% in the first quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,650 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,968,000 after acquiring an additional 3,645 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 24th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $283.13.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL traded down $7.14 on Friday, reaching $263.81. 1,221,133 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,176,580. The firm has a market cap of $74.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $252.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $250.14. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.