New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 9,200 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,271 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 9,200 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.11% of Ashland worth $3,735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 12.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 16.1% during 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 in 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 buying an additional 2,316 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in Ashland by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 297,218 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,045,000 after buying an additional 7,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Ashland by 75.7% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 205,218 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $16,614,000 after buying an additional 88,425 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ashland currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total value of $35,209.57. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at $1,107,188.74. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Guillermo Novo purchased 31,294 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased 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 in the company, valued at $2,010,326.56. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ashland Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ASH traded down $0.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $64.93. 612,134 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 680,083. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -98.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.86. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.60 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $69.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.70.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Ashland's payout ratio is presently -245.45%.

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.