Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Has $4.43 Million Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 31.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,919 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,183 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned 0.09% of Ashland worth $4,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Ashland by 122.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Ashland in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 143.7% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 809 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland during the second quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Ashland by 45,750.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 917 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ASH. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ashland from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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 decreased their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.50.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of Ashland stock traded down $0.86 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $84.50. 321,225 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 412,097. The stock's fifty day moving average is $90.51 and its 200 day moving average is $94.53. The stock has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 2.98. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.82 and a 12 month high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $544.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $577.08 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.98% and a net margin of 7.01%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.97%.

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.