Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $28.94 Million in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 405,030 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $28,943,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.86% of Ashland at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Ashland by 12.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $226,000,000 after buying an additional 284,215 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Ashland by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,022,580 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $73,074,000 after buying an additional 142,121 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ashland by 0.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 827,642 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $72,000,000 after buying an additional 2,316 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 702,561 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $50,205,000 after purchasing an additional 26,267 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 517,266 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,964,000 after purchasing an additional 7,709 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Ashland from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $87.00.

Ashland Stock Performance

ASH stock traded down $1.06 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $56.22. 840,784 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 448,145. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.40 and a twelve month high of $102.50. The company has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -85.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a negative net margin of 1.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.41%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Ashland's payout ratio is -245.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

In related news, CEO Guillermo Novo acquired 31,294 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $64.24 per share, with a total value of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,010,326.56. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

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.