Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 703.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 184,806 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 161,812 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.39% of Ashland worth $13,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its position in Ashland by 2.2% during the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 6,431 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in Ashland by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,295 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $681,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in Ashland by 5.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,104 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Ashland by 3.8% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,867 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 5.4% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,532 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of analysts have recently commented on ASH shares. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.00.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Ashland
Insider Activity
In other news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the sale, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total value of $35,209.57. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.
Ashland Stock Performance
NYSE:ASH traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $71.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 342,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 407,097. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $74.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.36. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.14 and a 12-month high of $102.50.
Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $524.07 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Ashland Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Ashland's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.36%.
About Ashland
(
Free Report)
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.
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