KBC Group NV Has $148,000 Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 70.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,066 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 857 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Ashland were worth $148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ASH. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in 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 valued at $226,000,000 after acquiring an additional 284,215 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $151,131,000 after purchasing an additional 103,517 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 6,127.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,574,000 after purchasing an additional 866,320 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 827,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,000,000 after buying an additional 2,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 297,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,045,000 after buying an additional 7,478 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ashland

In related news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Guillermo Novo acquired 31,294 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ashland Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $65.18 on Friday. Ashland Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.60 and a 1-year high of $102.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.84. The company has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of -98.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is -245.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.57.

About Ashland

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.