Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Position Increased by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 7.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $1,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 122.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ashland during the 2nd quarter valued at $71,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Ashland during the fourth quarter valued at about $67,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ashland by 143.7% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 809 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Ashland by 45,750.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 917 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $87.00 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.82 and a 12 month high of $102.50. The company has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.24.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $544.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.08 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.01% and a return on equity of 5.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ASH shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.50.

Ashland 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.