Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $38.55 Million Stake in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 650,161 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 52,400 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.42% of Ashland worth $38,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 212.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 706 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 2,736.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 709 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Ashland by 63.9% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ashland by 285.7% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Ashland by 1,745.8% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Price Performance

ASH stock opened at $53.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of -2.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $51.80 and its 200-day moving average is $54.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Ashland Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.21 and a 1 year high of $90.61.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $463.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $479.34 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. Ashland’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ASH. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ashland from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ashland currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.60.

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.