Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) Shares Bought by Man Group plc

Man Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH - Free Report) by 25.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,309 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,533 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned about 0.25% of Ashland worth $8,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,590 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 5,225 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,613 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its stake in Ashland by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,042 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Ashland by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,541 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ashland Stock Performance

NYSE ASH opened at $52.35 on Tuesday. Ashland Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.21 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The stock has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -79.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a fifty day moving average of $52.79 and a 200-day moving average of $64.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.11). Ashland had a positive return on equity of 7.41% and a negative net margin of 1.12%. The business had revenue of $479.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.79 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. Ashland's revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Ashland Inc. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.415 per share. This is a boost from Ashland's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Ashland's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -69.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Ashland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho set a $60.00 price objective on Ashland in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Ashland from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Ashland from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Ashland from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $68.60.

Ashland Profile

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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