PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Acquires 328 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Ashland were worth $441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eminence Capital LP grew its position in Ashland by 8.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Ashland by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,818,695 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $201,423,000 after buying an additional 44,018 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Ashland by 33.1% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,291,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $132,383,000 after buying an additional 569,740 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ashland by 7.4% during the first quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,683,627 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $99,822,000 after purchasing an additional 115,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shapiro Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ashland by 172.5% during the fourth quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 670,785 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,934,000 after purchasing an additional 424,595 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

Ashland Stock Down 1.4%

Ashland stock opened at $54.10 on Friday. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.21 and a fifty-two week high of $90.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $51.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.36. The company has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a PE ratio of -2.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.11). Ashland had a negative net margin of 46.01% and a positive return on equity of 6.82%. The company had revenue of $463.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $479.34 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a $0.415 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Ashland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -8.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ASH shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.60.

About Ashland

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.