Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Acquires New Stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. bought a new position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,245 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 302.4% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Ashland by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,022,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $73,074,000 after buying an additional 142,121 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Ashland by 70.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,066 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Ashland by 2,060.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 179,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,802,000 after acquiring an additional 170,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 703.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 184,806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,206,000 after acquiring an additional 161,812 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.57.

Ashland Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of ASH opened at $64.98 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $60.60 and a 12 month high of $102.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $69.97 and its 200-day moving average is $79.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of -98.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.86.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Ashland

In related news, CEO Guillermo Novo acquired 31,294 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $64.24 per share, with a total value of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at $2,010,326.56. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction of $35,209.57. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,188.74. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

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.