Cwm LLC Increases Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Cwm LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 163.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 347 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $47,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 167.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 107,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,070,000 after purchasing an additional 67,556 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted 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 period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Ashland by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,671,593 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $140,932,000 after acquiring an additional 256,828 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ashland by 3.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 188,767 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,418,000 after acquiring an additional 6,246 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 157.6% during the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 198,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,699,000 after acquiring an additional 121,161 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Performance

ASH stock opened at $97.84 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.44. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $70.82 and a one year high of $99.55. The firm has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95 and a beta of 0.92.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) 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. The company had revenue of $575.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $574.64 million. Ashland had a net margin of 9.09% and a return on equity of 5.57%. Ashland’s revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a positive change from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased 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. StockNews.com upgraded Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ashland from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $126.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ashland from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $112.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ashland from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.44.

Ashland Company Profile

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.