Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Stock Position Reduced by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC lessened its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 65.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 597 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,142 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Ashland were worth $35,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,590 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 5,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Ashland by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Commerce Bank raised its position in shares of Ashland by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,042 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ASH shares. Mizuho set a $60.00 price target on Ashland in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Ashland from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut Ashland from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.40.

Ashland Stock Up 0.9%

ASH opened at $54.47 on Friday. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.21 and a 12 month high of $98.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $50.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.63.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.11). Ashland had a negative net margin of 5.74% and a positive return on equity of 7.14%. The firm had revenue of $479.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.79 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.415 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This is a boost from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -69.17%.

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.