Choreo LLC Purchases New Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,514 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Ashland by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $226,000,000 after purchasing an additional 284,215 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Ashland by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,737,738 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $151,131,000 after purchasing an additional 103,517 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Ashland by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,022,580 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $73,074,000 after purchasing an additional 142,121 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ashland by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 827,642 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $72,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 2.6% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 297,218 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,045,000 after acquiring an additional 7,478 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ashland

In other news, CEO Guillermo Novo acquired 31,294 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $64.24 per share, with a total value of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total value of $35,209.57. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,107,188.74. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ashland Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Ashland stock traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $64.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 528,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 687,133. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $60.60 and a 12 month high of $102.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $69.53 and a 200 day moving average of $79.07. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of -98.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -245.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ASH shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.57.

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.