Geode Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Geode Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 820,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,186 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.74% of Ashland worth $58,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ASH. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Ashland by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,928,924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $352,221,000 after acquiring an additional 66,530 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Ashland by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,022,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $73,074,000 after buying an additional 142,121 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Ashland by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 702,561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $50,205,000 after buying an additional 26,267 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Ashland by 47.1% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 577,633 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,247,000 after buying an additional 184,954 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Ashland by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 517,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,964,000 after acquiring an additional 7,709 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ASH shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ashland from $69.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Ashland from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ashland from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Ashland from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ashland currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.20.

Ashland Price Performance

ASH opened at $50.42 on Monday. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.21 and a 12-month high of $102.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.71. The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.39, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a negative net margin of 1.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is presently -245.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ashland

In other news, CEO Guillermo Novo acquired 31,294 shares of Ashland stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at $2,010,326.56. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

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.