Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Sold by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. decreased its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 9.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,350 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 346 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Ashland in the 1st quarter valued at $624,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Ashland by 56.5% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 216,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,042,000 after acquiring an additional 78,013 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ashland in the 1st quarter valued at $3,480,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Ashland by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,424,801 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $204,435,000 after acquiring an additional 164,468 shares during the period. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ashland by 427.1% in the 1st quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 12,096 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE ASH opened at $88.32 on Wednesday. Ashland Inc. has a 52 week low of $70.82 and a 52 week high of $102.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.70. The firm has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.90.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $544.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.08 million. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.98% and a net margin of 7.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Ashland’s payout ratio is 42.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ASH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ashland from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com lowered Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Ashland from $116.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Ashland from $105.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ashland from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.50.

Ashland 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.