Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Sold by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC cut its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 32.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,847 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,329 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Ashland by 105.1% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 119,135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,513,000 after acquiring an additional 61,058 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Ashland during the third quarter worth about $3,134,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Ashland by 138.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 120,741 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,501,000 after acquiring an additional 70,145 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Ashland by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 517,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,964,000 after acquiring an additional 7,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 66.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 169,618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,752,000 after buying an additional 67,980 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ashland Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of ASH opened at $57.37 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -86.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.89. Ashland Inc. has a one year low of $56.08 and a one year high of $102.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 2.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $65.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.32.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a negative net margin of 1.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.41%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is presently -245.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Guillermo Novo bought 31,294 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $64.24 per share, with a total value of $2,010,326.56. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ashland from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.50.

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.