Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Stock Holdings Lessened by Tidal Investments LLC

Tidal Investments LLC lowered its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 186 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $1,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ASH. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $251,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Ashland during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,423,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Ashland by 28.7% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Ashland by 65.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,080 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Ashland by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 547,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $51,772,000 after purchasing an additional 6,598 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ASH. StockNews.com cut shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.00.

Ashland Trading Down 0.9 %

Ashland stock opened at $73.08 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.83 and a 12 month high of $102.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.86.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ashland news, VP Eric N. Boni sold 451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction of $35,209.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,188.74. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.