Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 648,370.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,945,412 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 1,945,112 shares during the quarter. Ashland makes up approximately 2.5% of Ancora Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Ancora Advisors LLC owned approximately 4.25% of Ashland worth $128,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ashland by 59.0% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ashland in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Ashland in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 38.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,005 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 398.3% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,460 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several brokerages have issued reports on ASH. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of Ashland from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Ashland from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Ashland from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ashland from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ashland from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ashland has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.90.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Ashland
Ashland Stock Performance
NYSE ASH opened at $73.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 3.05. The stock's fifty day moving average is $69.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.40. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.29 and a fifty-two week high of $78.25.
Ashland Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Ashland's payout ratio is presently 147.37%.
Ashland Company Profile
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Free Report)
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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