State Street Corp cut its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,515,578 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 136,605 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned about 3.10% of Ashland worth $131,810,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland in the 2nd quarter worth about $713,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Ashland during the 2nd quarter valued at about $251,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Ashland during the second quarter worth about $3,423,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Ashland by 28.7% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 99,777 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $9,428,000 after purchasing an additional 22,280 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 65.4% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,080 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Shares of NYSE:ASH opened at $74.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.83 and a 1 year high of $102.50. The company has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.86. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $81.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.95.
Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The company had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. Ashland's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.36%.
A number of brokerages have recently commented on ASH. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Three 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 company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.00.
Get Our Latest Research Report on ASH
In other Ashland news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,107,188.74. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company's stock, valued at $224,585.70. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.
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.
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