Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys New Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 405,030 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,943,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.86% of Ashland at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASH. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Ashland in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Ashland in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Ashland by 610.5% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Ashland in the third quarter valued at about $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ASH. UBS Group lowered their target price on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Ashland from $81.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ashland from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.00.

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ASH opened at $57.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.05. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of -86.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.89. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.29 and a 12-month high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -245.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Guillermo Novo bought 31,294 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.