American Century Companies Inc. Has $7.15 Million Holdings in Ashland Inc. $ASH

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has reduced its holdings in Ashland Inc. by 29.8%, now owning about $7.15 million worth of shares after selling 51,087 during the first quarter.
• A variety of institutional investors have also adjusted their positions in Ashland, with notable increases from Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC (276.4%) and Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. (46.7%).
• Ashland's latest quarterly earnings report showed EPS of $1.04, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 and indicating a 14.9% year-over-year revenue decline.

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its holdings in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 29.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 120,549 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 51,087 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.26% of Ashland worth $7,147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 276.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,392 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $735,000 after acquiring an additional 9,100 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Ashland by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,468 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Ashland in the 1st quarter worth about $273,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in Ashland by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 4,012 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Ashland by 46.7% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,750 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 4,058 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ashland from $73.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Argus reduced their price objective on shares of Ashland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.50.

Ashland Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of ASH stock opened at $56.59 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.44 and a 200-day moving average of $53.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Ashland Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.21 and a 12-month high of $90.61. The firm has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.02, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.49.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.11). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 6.82% and a negative net margin of 46.01%.The company had revenue of $463.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $479.34 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.49 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Ashland has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ashland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st will be paid a $0.415 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Ashland's payout ratio is currently -8.86%.

About Ashland

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.

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