Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 713.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,505 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,616 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in Ashland were worth $1,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Ashland in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 80.6% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 959 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 994 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Ashland by 302.4% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,489 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ashland during the fourth quarter worth about $127,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.95% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
ASH has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Ashland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ashland in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Ashland from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ashland from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $68.60.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Ashland
Ashland Stock Down 1.5%
NYSE:ASH traded down $0.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $49.30. The stock had a trading volume of 507,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 540,703. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.56. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of -74.69, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.58. Ashland Inc. has a twelve month low of $45.21 and a twelve 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.
Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $479.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.79 million. Ashland had a negative net margin of 1.12% and a positive return on equity of 7.41%. The firm's revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.
Ashland Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.415 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This is a boost from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ashland's dividend payout ratio is -69.17%.
About Ashland
(
Free Report)
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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