Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 26,267 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 702,561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,267 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.49% of Ashland worth $50,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in Ashland in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Ashland by 610.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Ashland in the 3rd quarter valued at about $72,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities 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, Ashland has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.50.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of Ashland stock opened at $55.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -84.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $65.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.29 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. 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 2.90%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -245.45%.

Insider Transactions at Ashland

In other news, CEO Guillermo Novo bought 31,294 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.