Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Bought by Fulton Bank N.A.

Fulton Bank N.A. grew its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,358 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Ashland by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,658,237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $224,118,000 after buying an additional 62,182 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,424,801 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $204,435,000 after acquiring an additional 164,468 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Ashland by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,671,593 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $140,932,000 after purchasing an additional 256,828 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Ashland by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,656,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $139,673,000 after purchasing an additional 252,104 shares during the period. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ashland by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 689,517 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $58,133,000 after purchasing an additional 21,667 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE:ASH opened at $96.86 on Friday. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.82 and a twelve month high of $102.50. The company has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $97.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.14.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.13. Ashland had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The business had revenue of $575.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $574.64 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 1st were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. This is a boost from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Ashland’s payout ratio is 42.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ASH. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Ashland in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ashland currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.44.

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.