Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 417 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,429 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $1,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 702,561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $50,205,000 after acquiring an additional 26,267 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Ashland by 238.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,275 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 3,718 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ashland by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 200,798 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,349,000 after buying an additional 1,988 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Ashland by 106.4% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 20,895 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,493,000 after buying an additional 10,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Ashland by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 517,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,964,000 after purchasing an additional 7,709 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ASH. StockNews.com cut Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ashland news, CEO Guillermo Novo bought 31,294 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.24 per share, with a total value of $2,010,326.56. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASH opened at $55.94 on Thursday. Ashland Inc. has a one year low of $54.86 and a one year high of $102.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $64.24 and a 200-day moving average of $75.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of -84.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.52.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 EPS 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 last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is -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.