Farmers Trust Co. Acquires New Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Farmers Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 29,456 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,105,000. Farmers Trust Co. owned 0.06% of Ashland at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ashland during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Ashland by 193.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in Ashland in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ashland news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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 $1,107,188.74. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 owns 2,883 shares of the company's stock, valued at $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.00.

Ashland Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of ASH stock traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $70.39. 351,048 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 493,290. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.87. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.25 and a 12-month high of $102.50. The company's 50-day moving average price is $76.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The business had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.36%.

Ashland Company 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.