Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Acquired by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,799 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 3,541 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.07% of Ashland worth $2,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 36,943 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,213,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 4,729 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Ashland by 323.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 71,689 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,236,000 after purchasing an additional 54,745 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ashland by 0.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 827,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,000,000 after buying an additional 2,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Ashland in the third quarter worth about $38,000. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ashland Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Ashland stock opened at $50.66 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.76, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.21 and a 1 year high of $102.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.45. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio is -245.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ashland news, CEO Guillermo Novo acquired 31,294 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.