American Century Companies Inc. Raises Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 29.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 171,636 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,392 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.36% of Ashland worth $12,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Ashland during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Ashland in the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Ashland by 84.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 994 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of ASH opened at $57.72 on Wednesday. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.86 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.98 and a 200 day moving average of $73.17. The firm has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -87.45, 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 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 previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently -245.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ASH. UBS Group decreased their price target on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Ashland from $80.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ashland from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.40.

Insider Transactions at Ashland

In other news, CEO Guillermo Novo purchased 31,294 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

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.