Bridgewater Associates LP Has $6.21 Million Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Bridgewater Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 87.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,380 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,271 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned about 0.15% of Ashland worth $6,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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 bought a new stake in Ashland during the third quarter worth $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 193.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 133.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ashland during the second quarter worth about $71,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of ASH opened at $78.14 on Friday. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.04 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $83.49 and a 200 day moving average of $89.75. The firm has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.44.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $522.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.07 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. Ashland’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Ashland’s payout ratio is currently 48.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Robin E. Lampkin sold 868 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.90, for a total value of $67,617.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,585.70. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.