Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Stock Position Reduced by Truist Financial Corp

Truist Financial Corp decreased its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 39,350 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,420 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Ashland were worth $3,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Ashland by 139.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,414,765 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $115,558,000 after buying an additional 824,600 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 33.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,260,333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $184,624,000 after purchasing an additional 560,916 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter valued at $22,880,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ashland by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,953,015 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $159,522,000 after purchasing an additional 248,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ashland by 157.6% in the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 198,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,699,000 after purchasing an additional 121,161 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE:ASH opened at $98.02 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 3.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $95.80 and its 200-day moving average is $87.29. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.82 and a 52-week high of $99.55. The company has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00 and a beta of 0.92.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $575.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $574.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ashland from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $126.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Ashland from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.44.

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.