6 days Ago By ABMN Staff
Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ashland Inc. ( NYSE:ASH – Free Report ) by 1.
4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,928,924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 66,530 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc.
owned 0.10% of Ashland worth $352,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company.
Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in Ashland in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Ashland in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000.
Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Ashland by 84.1% during the 4th quarter.
Assetmark Inc. now owns 994 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte.
Ltd. acquired a new position in Ashland in the third quarter valued at $72,000. Institutional investors own 93.
95% of the company’s stock. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of brokerages recently commented on ASH. StockNews.
com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.
00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ashland from $80.00 to $69.
00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $93.
00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ashland from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $68.
00 to $71.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company.
According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.40.
Ashland Stock Down 8.3 % ASH opened at $53.06 on Friday.
The stock has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of -80.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.
14 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.
27, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.
Ashland Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.98 and a 52 week high of $102.
50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.
92. Ashland ( NYSE:ASH – Get Free Report ) last announced 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 positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%.
During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Ashland Inc.
will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Ashland Announces Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th.
Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.
62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th.
Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is -245.45%. Insider Activity In related news, CEO Guillermo Novo bought 31,294 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st.
The shares were bought at an average cost of $64.24 per share, with a total value of $2,010,326.56.
Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at $2,010,326.56. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock.
The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website . Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.
About Ashland ( Free Report ) 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.
Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ASH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ashland Inc. ( NYSE:ASH – Free Report ).
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