Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Purchased by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 68.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,950 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,213 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned 0.10% of Ashland worth $3,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 66,530 shares during the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Ashland by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 2,860,471 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $204,409,000 after purchasing an additional 212,916 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,818,695 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $201,423,000 after acquiring an additional 44,018 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings 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 valued at $200,583,000 after acquiring an additional 208,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Ashland by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,022,580 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $73,074,000 after acquiring an additional 142,121 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ashland Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE ASH traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $51.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 49,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 722,188. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.21 and a 12-month high of $102.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -78.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.58. The business's 50 day moving average is $52.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.40.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last issued 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 positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. The company had revenue of $479.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $514.79 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be paid a $0.415 dividend. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This is a positive change from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ashland's payout ratio is -69.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ASH. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Ashland from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Ashland from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ashland currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.60.

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.