8,372 Shares in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Bought by Neo Ivy Capital Management

Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 8,372 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $728,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ASH. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Ashland by 193.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Ashland by 610.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ashland in the 2nd quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in Ashland by 8,211.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 748 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Ashland Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE ASH traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $74.12. 368,782 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 421,162. The company's fifty day moving average is $81.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.44. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $74.00 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.86.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The company had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Ashland's dividend payout ratio is 48.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ashland currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $102.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

In related news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction of $35,209.57. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

About Ashland

Ashland Inc provides additives and specialty ingredients in the North and Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through Life Sciences, Personal Care, Specialty Additives, and Intermediates segments. The Life Sciences segment offers pharmaceutical solutions, including controlled release polymers, disintegrants, tablet coatings, thickeners, solubilizers, and tablet binders; nutrition solutions, such as thickeners, stabilizers, emulsifiers, and additives; and nutraceutical solutions comprising products for weight management, joint comfort, stomach and intestinal health, sports nutrition, and general wellness, as well as custom formulation, toll processing, and particle engineering solutions.