Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $6.45 Million Stock Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 108,775 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,210 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Ashland worth $6,449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,928,924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $352,221,000 after buying an additional 66,530 shares during the period. Eminence Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 2,860,471 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $204,409,000 after acquiring an additional 212,916 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Ashland by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,818,695 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,423,000 after purchasing an additional 44,018 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Ashland by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,806,922 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $200,583,000 after purchasing an additional 208,320 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Ashland by 33.1% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,291,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $132,383,000 after purchasing an additional 569,740 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Ashland stock opened at $50.96 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.21 and a 12-month high of $98.44. The company has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.23, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $51.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.09.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted 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 positive return on equity of 7.14% and a negative net margin of 5.74%. The firm had revenue of $479.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.79 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 1st were paid a $0.415 dividend. This is a positive change from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -69.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ASH. Mizuho set a $60.00 price objective on Ashland in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Ashland from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Ashland from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.40.

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.