Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Grows Stock Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 12.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 284,215 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 5.32% of Ashland worth $226,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Ashland by 3.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,773,170 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $262,037,000 after buying an additional 86,977 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Ashland by 6.3% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,737,738 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $151,131,000 after buying an additional 103,517 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Ashland by 2.3% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 671,948 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $63,492,000 after buying an additional 14,938 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its holdings in Ashland by 2.4% in the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 581,204 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $54,918,000 after buying an additional 13,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 547,909 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $51,772,000 after acquiring an additional 6,598 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ashland Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ASH traded up $1.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $79.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 286,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 466,397. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $84.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.41. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.04 and a 1 year high of $102.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. The company's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ashland news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at $224,585.70. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ashland from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashland has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.29.

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.