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

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 30.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,296 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,858 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ASH. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ashland by 143.9% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Ashland by 338.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Ashland by 163.7% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in Ashland in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho upped their target price on Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ashland from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.44.

Ashland Trading Up 0.4 %

ASH stock opened at $96.86 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.28. Ashland Inc. has a 52 week low of $70.82 and a 52 week high of $102.50.

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

Ashland Increases Dividend

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

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.