Bank of New York Mellon Corp Boosts Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 517,266 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 7,709 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.10% of Ashland worth $36,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Ashland by 12.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $226,000,000 after purchasing an additional 284,215 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Ashland by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,022,580 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $73,074,000 after purchasing an additional 142,121 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ashland by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 827,642 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $72,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,316 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ashland by 2.6% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 297,218 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,045,000 after purchasing an additional 7,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ashland by 75.7% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 205,218 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $16,614,000 after purchasing an additional 88,425 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ashland news, CEO Guillermo Novo purchased 31,294 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $64.24 per share, with a total value of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,010,326.56. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Ashland from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.50.

Ashland Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of Ashland stock traded down $1.27 on Friday, hitting $58.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,158,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 438,908. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Ashland Inc. has a one year low of $56.46 and a one year high of $102.50. The stock has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -88.45, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $66.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.82.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Ashland's payout ratio is -245.45%.

Ashland Profile

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.