Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Purchases New Holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 7,066 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $505,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Ashland during the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 80.6% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 959 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 84.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 994 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 302.4% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,489 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 4th quarter valued at $127,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASH has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Mizuho set a $60.00 target price on Ashland in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Ashland from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on Ashland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Ashland from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashland currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $68.60.

Ashland Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASH traded up $1.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $52.77. 506,721 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 537,882. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.21 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of -79.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.63.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.11). Ashland had a negative net margin of 1.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.41%. The business 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 earned $1.27 earnings per share. Ashland's revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.415 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This is a boost from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -69.17%.

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.