Quest Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 2,062.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,176 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,428 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC's holdings in Ashland were worth $1,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ASH. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Ashland by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 657,010 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $63,973,000 after buying an additional 26,245 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland in the 2nd quarter valued at about $713,000. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Ashland by 33.0% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 429,220 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,727,000 after buying an additional 106,417 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Ashland by 242.5% during the first quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 13,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,334,000 after buying an additional 9,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ashland during the second quarter worth about $2,442,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,883 shares of the company's stock, valued at $224,585.70. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ASH shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. raised 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 research note on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.29.

Ashland Stock Down 0.2 %

Ashland stock traded down $0.18 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $76.21. The stock had a trading volume of 350,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 421,533. The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $84.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.60. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.04 and a 52-week high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

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

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.