Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Purchased by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $253,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 12.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $226,000,000 after acquiring an additional 284,215 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,022,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $73,074,000 after acquiring an additional 142,121 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 827,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,316 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 2.6% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 297,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,045,000 after acquiring an additional 7,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 75.7% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 205,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,614,000 after acquiring an additional 88,425 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total value of $35,209.57. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Guillermo Novo acquired 31,294 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $64.24 per share, with a total value of $2,010,326.56. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at $2,010,326.56. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Price Performance

ASH stock opened at $64.93 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $68.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.53. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.60 and a 12-month high of $102.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of -98.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.86.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a negative net margin of 1.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.41%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -245.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ASH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective 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 lowered their price objective on Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ashland presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.57.

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.