Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Sold by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lowered its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,385 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 147 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $242,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position 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 worth $226,000,000 after acquiring an additional 284,215 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Ashland by 6.3% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,737,738 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $151,131,000 after acquiring an additional 103,517 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Ashland by 6,127.2% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,574,000 after acquiring an additional 866,320 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $72,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Ashland by 2.6% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 297,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,045,000 after acquiring an additional 7,478 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction of $35,209.57. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of ASH stock opened at $71.16 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.38. Ashland Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.14 and a 52 week high of $102.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.87.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The business had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.36%.

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.