Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Bought by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 122.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $27,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 163.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 4th quarter worth about $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ashland from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group raised their target price on Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Ashland from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.44.

Ashland Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of ASH stock opened at $94.96 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $97.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.48. 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 $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 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.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.13. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 9.09%. The company had revenue of $575.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $574.64 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 1st were paid 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 dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.97%.

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.