Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Sells 391,700 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 75.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,833 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 391,700 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Ashland worth $10,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ASH. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Ashland by 193.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Ashland by 133.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 650 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 2nd quarter worth $71,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ashland by 8,211.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 748 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the period. Finally, Ecofi Investissements SA purchased a new position in Ashland during the second quarter valued at $74,000. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on ASH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashland presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.50.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of ASH traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $84.82. 307,632 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 300,062. The stock has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.75, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $86.49 and a 200-day moving average of $91.93. 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 52 week low of $70.82 and a 52 week high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.98% and a net margin of 7.01%. The company had revenue of $544.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Ashland's payout ratio is 54.92%.

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.