Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Purchases 10,393 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 23.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,870 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,393 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp owned 0.11% of Ashland worth $5,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Ashland by 8,211.1% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 748 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC bought a new position in shares of Ashland in the 2nd quarter worth $470,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ashland by 31.3% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 46,919 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,433,000 after purchasing an additional 11,183 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ashland during the 2nd quarter valued at $523,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ashland by 27.5% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,289 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,445,000 after buying an additional 3,299 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ashland from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.50.

Ashland Stock Performance

ASH stock traded up $1.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $86.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 478,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 412,574. The stock has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $89.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.28. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $70.82 and a 1 year high of $102.50.

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

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Ashland's payout ratio is 42.97%.

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.