Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,242 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 53,718 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Ashland worth $9,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 193.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ashland during the second quarter worth $71,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in Ashland by 8,211.1% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 748 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 739 shares during the period. Finally, Ecofi Investissements SA acquired a new stake in Ashland during the second quarter valued at $74,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ashland

In related news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the firm'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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on ASH shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ashland from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.29.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of ASH stock traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $76.17. The stock had a trading volume of 103,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 420,987. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88. The stock's 50 day moving average is $84.82 and its 200 day moving average is $90.73. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.48 and a twelve month high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The firm had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $524.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Ashland's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.36%.

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.