14,847 Shares in Ashland Inc. $ASH Purchased by Auxano Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Auxano Advisors LLC purchased 14,847 Ashland shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $978,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors collectively own 93.95% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is cautiously positive: Ashland has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from 12 analysts, with an average price target of $73.90.
• Ashland shares opened at $74.18, near the consensus target, while the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, representing a 2.3% yield.

Auxano Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 14,847 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $978,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Ashland by 59.0% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Ashland by 38.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,005 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Ashland by 398.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,460 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ASH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Ashland in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised shares of Ashland from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ashland from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ashland from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ashland from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.90.

Ashland Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of ASH opened at $74.18 on Tuesday. Ashland Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.29 and a 52-week high of $78.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 3.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.97. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 65.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.40.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Ashland's payout ratio is presently 147.37%.

Ashland Profile

Ashland Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and supplies a broad range of performance and process-critical additives, ingredients and technologies. Its portfolio spans performance additives for coatings, adhesives and sealants; specialty ingredients for personal care and pharmaceutical applications; and process aids used in water treatment and other industrial processes. Ashland aims to address customer challenges by delivering tailored solutions that improve product performance, processing efficiency and sustainability outcomes.

Founded in 1924 as the Ashland Oil & Refining Company, the firm gradually expanded into the specialty chemicals sector over the second half of the 20th century.

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