Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Sold by Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. reduced its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,747 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 267 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $1,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ASH. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Ashland by 696.4% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 52,372 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,415,000 after acquiring an additional 45,796 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,671,593 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $140,932,000 after purchasing an additional 256,828 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Ashland in the 1st quarter worth about $624,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 56.5% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 216,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,042,000 after buying an additional 78,013 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ashland in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,480,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of ASH traded down $0.98 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $96.40. 93,985 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 403,279. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.90. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.82 and a twelve month high of $102.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $575.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $574.64 million. Ashland had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 5.57%. Ashland’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. Analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a positive change from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ashland from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ashland from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.88.

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.