Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $73.07 Million Stock Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,022,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 142,121 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 2.17% of Ashland worth $73,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 12.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,598,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $226,000,000 after purchasing an additional 284,215 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Ashland by 2,060.5% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 179,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,802,000 after buying an additional 170,859 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ashland by 616.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 189,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,875,000 after acquiring an additional 162,776 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 703.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 184,806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,206,000 after acquiring an additional 161,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Ashland by 6.3% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,737,738 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $151,131,000 after purchasing an additional 103,517 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ASH. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ashland from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ashland has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.00.

Ashland Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE ASH opened at $70.99 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.87. Ashland Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.14 and a 52 week high of $102.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $73.63 and a 200-day moving average of $82.55.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.07 million. Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The business’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s payout ratio is 48.36%.

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.