Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 32.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 113,242 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 53,718 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.24% of Ashland worth $9,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ASH. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,545 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $996,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Ashland by 7.8% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,194,000 after buying an additional 918 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Ashland by 0.5% in the second quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 50,251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,748,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 27.5% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,289 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,445,000 after acquiring an additional 3,299 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $523,000. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.00.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $70.93 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.86. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.30 and a 12 month high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The firm had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s payout ratio is 48.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

In other news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction of $35,209.57. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,188.74. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at $224,585.70. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.