Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Takes Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,273 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $734,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 12.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $226,000,000 after purchasing an additional 284,215 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Ashland by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,022,580 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $73,074,000 after buying an additional 142,121 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ashland by 0.3% in the 3rd 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. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Ashland by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 297,218 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,045,000 after acquiring an additional 7,478 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ashland by 75.7% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 205,218 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $16,614,000 after acquiring an additional 88,425 shares during the period. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.50.

Insider Activity

In other Ashland news, CEO Guillermo Novo acquired 31,294 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $64.24 per share, with a total value of $2,010,326.56. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction of $35,209.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of ASH traded down $0.65 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $57.77. 958,283 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 429,154. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.50 and a 12 month high of $102.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of -87.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.86. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $67.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.53.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Ashland's payout ratio is currently -245.45%.

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.