Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC Buys 15,152 Shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC lifted its position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 442,428 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,152 shares during the quarter. Ashland makes up 1.8% of Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC owned approximately 0.94% of Ashland worth $31,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Ashland in the fourth quarter worth $4,157,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ashland by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 148,433 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,607,000 after purchasing an additional 22,600 shares in the last quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ashland by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 25,882 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,850,000 after purchasing an additional 9,954 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ashland during the fourth quarter valued at about $665,000. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 8,793 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $628,000 after buying an additional 995 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Guillermo Novo purchased 31,294 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $64.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,010,326.56. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,010,326.56. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ashland in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ashland from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $69.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Ashland from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ashland has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.20.

Ashland Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of ASH stock traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $51.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 141,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 509,946. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $56.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -78.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.70. Ashland Inc. has a one year low of $45.21 and a one year high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.51). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

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.