Eagle Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 75.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 205,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 88,425 shares during the quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.42% of Ashland worth $16,614,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ASH. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Ashland by 3.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,773,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $262,037,000 after acquiring an additional 86,977 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Ashland by 12.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 284,215 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $151,131,000 after acquiring an additional 103,517 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Ashland by 6,127.2% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 880,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,574,000 after acquiring an additional 866,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Ashland by 2.3% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 671,948 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $63,492,000 after acquiring an additional 14,938 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of ASH stock opened at $79.05 on Friday. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.04 and a 12 month high of $102.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.41.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.02). Ashland had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The business had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.36%.

Insider Activity

In other Ashland news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total transaction of $67,617.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,585.70. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ASH shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.29.

About Ashland

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.