Edgestream Partners L.P. Acquires Shares of 36,036 Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 36,036 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,134,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. owned approximately 0.07% of Ashland at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ASH. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Ashland during the second quarter valued at $713,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased 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 during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ashland during the second quarter worth approximately $2,442,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 2.4% during the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 581,204 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $54,918,000 after buying an additional 13,577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Ashland by 28.7% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 99,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,428,000 after buying an additional 22,280 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Ashland stock opened at $78.06 on Monday. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.04 and a 52-week high of $102.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.55. The firm has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.88.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued 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). Ashland had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 7.95%. The company had revenue of $522.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.36%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $67,617.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,883 shares in the company, valued at $224,585.70. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ASH. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Ashland from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ashland presently has an average 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.