Dynasty Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 5,843 Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Dynasty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASHFree Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 5,843 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $569,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in 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 buying an additional 45,796 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,521 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $887,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in Ashland in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ashland by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 689,517 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $58,133,000 after purchasing an additional 21,667 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $100.00 to $112.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho upped their target price on Ashland from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ashland from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.88.

Get Our Latest Report on ASH

Ashland Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASH traded up $0.97 on Wednesday, hitting $97.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 94,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 397,305. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.82 and a 12 month high of $102.50. The company has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $96.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 3.15.

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

Ashland Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. This is a boost from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.97%.

Ashland Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Ashland (NYSE:ASH)

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