Savant Capital LLC Buys Shares of 4,811 Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,811 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Ashland in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in Ashland in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 610.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Ashland during the third quarter valued at approximately $72,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three 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, Ashland currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

In related news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total value of $35,209.57. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Guillermo Novo purchased 31,294 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased 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 owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at $2,010,326.56. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE ASH opened at $64.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -98.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $69.53 and a 200-day moving average of $79.07. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.60 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

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

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently -245.45%.

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.