Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 33.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,291,157 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 569,740 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 4.86% of Ashland worth $132,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Ashland by 2,736.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 709 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Ashland by 212.4% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 706 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ashland by 285.7% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 914 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Ashland during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased 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 acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
ASH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho set a $60.00 target price on Ashland in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Ashland from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Ashland from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Ashland from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.60.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Ashland
Ashland Stock Down 0.6%
Ashland stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $50.73. The stock had a trading volume of 513,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 554,597. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.52. Ashland Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.21 and a 12 month high of $98.44. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $50.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.77.
Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Ashland had a negative net margin of 5.74% and a positive return on equity of 7.14%. The firm had revenue of $479.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.79 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.
Ashland Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 1st were paid a $0.415 dividend. This is an increase from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Ashland's payout ratio is presently -69.17%.
Ashland Company Profile
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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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