Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Stock Holdings Lessened by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,012 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 277 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $1,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ashland during the 1st quarter valued at $212,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Ashland by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,016 shares during the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 1st quarter worth about $228,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 546,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,246,000 after buying an additional 94,013 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 400.3% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,891 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,547,000 after buying an additional 12,715 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ashland has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.29.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of Ashland stock opened at $77.97 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.05. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.04 and a twelve month high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.36%.

Insider Transactions at Ashland

In other Ashland news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.69% 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.